Image map resolution: What size and resolution should I use for my image map, color maps, or transparency maps?
In a perfect world, you should size your image maps such that you have at least 1 pixel in the image = 1 pixel in your final rendering. Thus, you should size these so that they are not too small (or you will see the pixels of these images in your rendering) and not too large (or you will increase memory usage and render times). For example, if you have a picture on a wall, and the picture occupies 2″ x 2″ out of an 8″ x 10″ rendering @ 300 dpi, then your picture image map should be 2″ x 300 dpi = 600 pixels (square). If you are using a marble tile for the floor, and the largest tile in your image is 1″ x 1″, then at the same 300 dpi, this should be 1″ x 300 dpi = 300 pixels. As another example, if you have an oriental rug on the floor (where the pattern is not repetitive) and the rug fills the entire bottom of the image, then this should be 10″ x 300 dpi = 3000 pixels. Alternately, if you are rendering the same image at 24 x 36″ @ 100 dpi, then you would want this image map to be 36″ x
