Consequently, what does a Cubemap do?
A cubemap is a texture like any other texture, so to create one we generate a texture and bind it to the proper texture target before we do any further texture operations.
Furthermore, how do I create a Cubemap image? You can import a 2d image and set it as a cubemap, rotate to where there are any visible seams in the viewer, drop the view into Photoshop, paint and then save out back into the viewer - a la Zapplink or somesuch.
Secondly, what is an env map?
In computer graphics, environment mapping, or reflection mapping, is an efficient image-based lighting technique for approximating the appearance of a reflective surface by means of a precomputed texture. The texture is used to store the image of the distant environment surrounding the rendered object.
What is a cubemap reflection?
A Cubemap is a collection of six square textures that represent the reflections on an environment. The six squares form the faces of an imaginary cube that surrounds an object; each face represents the view along the directions of the world axes (up, down, left, right, forward and back).