Using interior cubemaps to texture the interior of a building

Working with a 3D model of a building comes with its own set of challenges. Many of them stem from the fact that these meshes are comprised of both large and small-scale pieces. This dual nature wreaks havoc among the artists that have to deal with them, and a great example of that problem can be seen when we look at their windows. Do we, as artists, allow users to see what’s inside, with the repercussions of needing to model the interiors? Or do we simply make the glass reflective and opaque, limiting the views of those rooms?

In the following pages, we’ll take a look at a more contemporary technique that brings windows to life thanks to a special type of texture called interior cubemaps, which allow us to add realism to our buildings without needing to model all of the rooms inside them.

Getting ready

Unlike most of our previous recipes, where we can usually jump straight into them, you’ll...