Texture Mapping: Shadows and Reflections

This lecture delves into the concept of texture mapping, focusing on the powerful technique of applying textures to 3D objects to enhance realism. The instructor explains how texture mapping can manipulate color, reflections, and shadows, showcasing examples of applying textures to geometric models. The lecture also covers the challenges of texture mapping with photographs, emphasizing the importance of separating lighting information from material properties. Additionally, the instructor explores the versatility of texture mapping, demonstrating how it can be used to change surface properties, normal vectors, and even geometry itself. The lecture concludes with an introduction to shadow mapping, a technique used to compute shadows in real-time rendering by rendering the scene from the light source's perspective and comparing depth values to determine shadowed areas.