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Normal Maps
Left: color only (flat). Right: color + normal map (fake bumps). The silhouette stays smooth — only lighting is tricked.
Color Only — flat surface
Color + Normal Map — faked detail
Textures
Normal Maps
Normal maps encode per-pixel surface orientation as RGB colors, letting a flat mesh catch light as if it had complex geometry. The silhouette stays perfectly smooth — only shading is affected.
surface detail
tangent space
raking light