texture mapping
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~24 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Mapping a two-dimensional texture onto a 3D model 1: 3D model without textures2: Same model with textures
Texture mapping is a term used in computer graphics to describe how 2D images are projected onto 3D models. The most common variant is the UV unwrap, which can be described as an inverse paper cutout, where the surfaces of a 3D model are cut apart so that it can be unfolded into a 2D coordinate space (UV space).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “texture mapping” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.