In 3D computer graphics, normal mapping, or "Dot3 bump mapping", is a technique used for faking the lighting of bumps and dents - an implementation of Bump mapping. It is used to add details without using more polygons. A common use of this technique is to greatly enhance the appearance and details of a low polygon model by generating a normal map from a high polygon model or height map.
Normal maps are commonly stored as regular RGB images where the RGB components corresponds to the X, Y, and Z coordinates, respectively, of the surface normal.
Read more about Normal Mapping: History, How It Works, Calculating Tangent Space, Normal Mapping in Video Games
Famous quotes containing the word normal:
“The normal present connects the past and the future through limitation. Contiguity results, crystallization by means of solidification. There also exists, however, a spiritual present that identifies past and future through dissolution, and this mixture is the element, the atmosphere of the poet.”
—Novalis [Friedrich Von Hardenberg] (1772–1801)