Importance driven texture coordinate optimization

Traditionally, texture coordinates have been generated based solely on the model's geometry, often even before a model's textures have been created. W ith the arrival of new technologies, such as 3D paint programs weaknesses o f a static optimization pre-process are becoming apparent. These weaknesses arise from constructing a parameterization based solely on the model's geo metry, ignoring the fact that detail is Rot uniformly spaced throughout the texture space. In fact, certain regions of the texture are more important than other regions. In this paper we introduce the notion of the "importanc e map" and describe how importance va:lues are derived from both intrinsic properties of the texture and user-guided highlights. Furthermore, we descr ibe how importance maps are used to drive the texture coordinate optimizati on. Finally, we show how this optimization process can be integrated into a 3D painting environment, enabling periodic optimization at any stage of te xture design.