Terrain Texture Shader released

[Natural Graphics]

This week Natural Graphics has released Terrain Texture Shader, a new free application for Mac OS X that creates highly detailed images from terrain models. This software is based on an algorithm developed by Leland Brown and presented at the 2010 NACIS conference.

Natural Graphics developed the user interface and additional features, giving you easy access to this relatively new terrain rendering method. Terrain Texture Shader is a multi-threaded application, capable of running on both 32 and 64 bit systems with Mac OS 10.6 or higher. The software, based on an algorithm developed by Leland Brown, renders DEMs as georeferenced images with increased contrast and detail.

A practical use of texture shading is for mapmakers to merge it with shaded relief. The two techniques when combined can improve many terrains, clearly depicting drainages and revealing small details. Depicting rock textures in alpine mountains is another use for the software that shows promise.

Brett Casebolt
Natural Graphics