A cubemap is just one way to represent a 360 degree spherical image, albeit the most efficient way for real-time graphics. But for 2D artists, the easiest way to create and work with 360 degree spherical images is in a program that supports editing them directly without worrying about all the warping and edges, such as Photoshop:
Once you have your 360 degree spherical image in the format of an equirectangular image, there are numerous ways to convert it to a cubemap depending on how you plan to use it. Unreal Engine, for example, converts equirectangular images automat...
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