tilingoffsets

Tiling offsets are parameters used in computer graphics to shift the origin of a texture that is tiled across a surface. They are typically represented as a two-dimensional vector and work together with tiling (scaling) to determine the final texture coordinates observed on a model.

In practice, the texture coordinates are transformed by an affine mapping: newU = u * tilingX + offsetX and newV = v * tilingY + offsetY. The tiling components control how many times the texture repeats across the surface, while the offsets move the starting point of the tile pattern. Together, tiling and offset determine how the texture is laid out.

Wrap modes influence how offsets behave at the edges of the texture. If the wrap mode is Repeat, offsets cause the pattern to slide and loop as coordinates exceed the 0 to 1 range. If the wrap mode is Clamp, coordinates outside the range sample the edge color, limiting repetition.

Texture atlases commonly use tiling and offsets to select a sub-rectangle within a larger image. Offsets can be set to the coordinates of a specific tile, while tiling can define the tile’s size relative to the atlas, enabling efficient packing of multiple textures.

Applications include animating textures by incrementing the offset over time (e.g., flowing water or moving belts) and precise control of texture alignment on complex surfaces. Practical use requires consideration of the rendering pipeline’s coordinate conventions and any distortions that can arise from non-uniform scaling or atlas arrangements.