Abstract
Assume a 2D manifold surface topologically equivalent to a sphere with handles we propose a novel 3D surface parametrization along the surface skeleton. First, we use a global mapping of the surface vertices onto a computed skeleton. Second, we use local mapping of the surrounding area of each skeleton segment into a small rectangle whose size is derived based on the surface properties around the segment. Each rectangle can be textured by assigning the local u;v texture coordinates. Furthermore, these rectangles are packed into a large squared texture called skeleton texture map (STM) by approximately solving a palette loading problem. Our technique enables the mapping of a texture onto the surface without necessity to store texture coordinates together with the model data. In other words it is enough to store the geometry data with STM and the coordinates are calculated on the fly.