Alpha Mapping is a technique in

3D computer graphics 3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for th ...

involving the use of

texture mapping Texture mapping is a method for mapping a texture on a computer-generated graphic. Texture here can be high frequency detail, surface texture, or color. History The original technique was pioneered by Edwin Catmull in 1974. Texture mapping ...

to designate the amount of transparency/translucency of areas in a certain object. Alpha mapping is used when the given object's transparency is not consistent: when the transparency amount is not the same for the entire object and/or when the object is not entirely transparent. If the object has the same level of transparency everywhere, one can either use a solid-color alpha texture or an integer value. The alpha map is often encoded in the alpha channel of an

RGBA RGBA stands for red green blue alpha. While it is sometimes described as a color space, it is actually a three-channel RGB color model supplemented with a fourth ''alpha channel''. Alpha indicates how opaque each pixel is and allows an image to ...

texture used for coloring instead of being a standalone

greyscale In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a grayscale image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample representing only an ''amount'' of light; that is, it carries only intensity information. Graysca ...

texture.

See also