Building Interactive Worlds in 3D

Chapter 3

Interactive Textures and Lighting Design

1       Introduction

Textures play a critical role in the overall design of virtual spaces. Textures and lighting work together to bring emotion and dramatic tension to scenes. Interactive textures go beyond the use of 2D images carefully applied on the surface of a 3D object; they help to manage the viewer’s dramatic experience inside a virtual space. They are often used as 2D media placed between the mesh of a 3D object and the lighting and environment of a virtual scene. This chapter covers various kinds of interactive textures presented in order of increasing complexity.

1.1     Bitmaps and Procedural Images

The first group of tutorials includes interactive textures using still images and ...