Image and raw image components in Unity

Introduction

Image and Raw Image components show pictures in your game or app. They help you add visuals like buttons, backgrounds, or textures.

To display a button icon or UI element in your game.

To show a background picture behind your game content.

To display a photo or texture loaded from a file or URL.

To add decorative images to menus or HUDs.

To show raw textures that need no extra processing.

Syntax

Unity

Image imageComponent;
RawImage rawImageComponent;

Image uses sprites, which are optimized 2D images.

RawImage uses textures directly, useful for videos or dynamic images.

Examples

This example shows how to declare an Image component and assign a sprite to it.

Unity

using UnityEngine.UI;

public Image myImage;

// Assign a sprite in the Inspector or by code
myImage.sprite = someSprite;

This example shows how to declare a RawImage component and assign a texture to it.

Unity

using UnityEngine.UI;

public RawImage myRawImage;

// Assign a texture in the Inspector or by code
myRawImage.texture = someTexture;

Sample Program

This script sets an Image and a RawImage component to show a sprite and a texture when the game starts. Assign the sprite and texture in the Unity Editor.

Unity

using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.UI;

public class ShowImages : MonoBehaviour
{
    public Image imageComponent;
    public RawImage rawImageComponent;
    public Sprite exampleSprite;
    public Texture exampleTexture;

    void Start()
    {
        // Set the Image component's sprite
        imageComponent.sprite = exampleSprite;

        // Set the RawImage component's texture
        rawImageComponent.texture = exampleTexture;
    }
}

Important Notes

Use Image for UI elements that need to be sliced or tinted easily.

Use RawImage when you want to display textures that are not sprites, like video frames.

Remember to assign your images in the Inspector or by code before running.

Summary

Image component displays sprites optimized for UI.

RawImage component displays textures directly.

Both are used to show pictures in your Unity UI.