Image and raw image components in Unity - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - Image and raw image components

Add UI Canvas

↓

Add Image or RawImage Component

↓

Assign Sprite (Image) or Texture (RawImage)

↓

Set Properties: Color, Size, Raycast Target

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Image Displays on Screen

This flow shows how to add and configure Image or RawImage components in Unity UI to display graphics.

Execution Sample

Unity

using UnityEngine;
using UnityEngine.UI;

public class ShowImage : MonoBehaviour {
  public Image img;
  public RawImage rawImg;
  void Start() {
    img.color = Color.red;
    rawImg.texture = Texture2D.whiteTexture;
  }
}

This code sets the color of an Image component to red and assigns a white texture to a RawImage component at start.

Execution Table

Step	Action	Component	Property Changed	Value	Effect
1	Start method called	Image	color	red	Image color changes to red
2	Start method called	RawImage	texture	whiteTexture	RawImage shows white texture
3	Frame renders	Image & RawImage	display	updated	Both images appear on screen with set properties
4	End	-	-	-	No further changes

💡 Start method finishes, images display with assigned properties

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	Final
img.color	default	red	red	red
rawImg.texture	null	null	whiteTexture	whiteTexture

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why does Image use a Sprite but RawImage uses a Texture?

Image component displays Sprites which are optimized for UI, while RawImage uses Textures directly for more flexibility. See execution_table steps 1 and 2 where different properties are set.

What happens if you don't assign a Sprite or Texture?

The Image or RawImage will not display anything visible. In the execution_table, before step 1 and 2, img.color and rawImg.texture are default or null, so no image shows.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what color is the Image component after step 1?

A Default (white)

B White

C Red

D Transparent

💡 Hint

Check the 'Property Changed' and 'Value' columns for step 1 in execution_table

At which step is the RawImage texture assigned?

A Step 2

B Step 1

C Step 3

D Step 4

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Action' and 'Component' columns in execution_table rows

If you remove the line 'img.color = Color.red;', what will be the Image color after step 1?

A Red

B Default color (white)

C Transparent

D Black

💡 Hint

Refer to variable_tracker for img.color initial value and step 1 change

Concept Snapshot

Image and RawImage components show graphics in Unity UI.
Image uses Sprites; RawImage uses Textures.
Set properties like color (Image) or texture (RawImage) to change appearance.
Add components to Canvas to display.
Without assigning Sprite/Texture, nothing shows.

Full Transcript

In Unity, to show pictures in the UI, you use Image or RawImage components. Image works with Sprites, which are special images made for UI. RawImage works with Textures, which are more general images. First, you add a Canvas to your scene. Then you add an Image or RawImage component to a UI object. You assign a Sprite to Image or a Texture to RawImage. You can also change properties like color for Image. When the game runs, these components display the images on the screen. If you don't assign a Sprite or Texture, nothing will show. The example code sets the Image color to red and the RawImage texture to a white texture when the game starts. This changes how they look on screen. The execution table shows these steps clearly, tracking changes and effects. This helps beginners see how the components update and display images.