diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a6a0b78..8130d77 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -164,4 +164,5 @@
 </table>
 
 <h2>MSRV</h2>
-1.75
+1.80 (or latest stable at the time of the last major release)<br>
+bumps to MSRV are considered a breaking change
diff --git a/hui-derive/Cargo.toml b/hui-derive/Cargo.toml
index c31c901..6ba5fd5 100644
--- a/hui-derive/Cargo.toml
+++ b/hui-derive/Cargo.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ description = "Derive macros for hUI"
 repository = "https://github.com/griffi-gh/hui"
 readme = "../README.md"
 authors = ["griffi-gh <prasol258@gmail.com>"]
-rust-version = "1.75"
+rust-version = "1.80"
 version = "0.1.0-alpha.5"
 edition = "2021"
 license = "GPL-3.0-or-later"
diff --git a/hui-glium/Cargo.toml b/hui-glium/Cargo.toml
index 13dae9c..3a8dbba 100644
--- a/hui-glium/Cargo.toml
+++ b/hui-glium/Cargo.toml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ repository = "https://github.com/griffi-gh/hui"
 readme = "../README.md"
 authors = ["griffi-gh <prasol258@gmail.com>"]
 version = "0.1.0-alpha.5"
-rust-version = "1.75"
+rust-version = "1.80"
 edition = "2021"
 license = "GPL-3.0-or-later"
 publish = true
diff --git a/hui-painter/Cargo.toml b/hui-painter/Cargo.toml
index 4e651a8..37bf613 100644
--- a/hui-painter/Cargo.toml
+++ b/hui-painter/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [package]
 name = "hui-painter"
-description = "UI rendering middleware for hUI, abstracts away triangulation, text rendering and all the other hard stuff."
+description = "UI rendering middleware for hUI, abstracts away triangulation, text layout and rendering and all the other hard stuff."
 repository = "https://github.com/griffi-gh/hui"
 readme = "../README.md"
 authors = ["griffi-gh <prasol258@gmail.com>"]
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ edition = "2021"
 license = "GPL-3.0-or-later"
 publish = true
 include = [
-  "assets/**/*",
   "src/**/*.rs",
   "Cargo.toml",
 ]
@@ -18,3 +17,7 @@ include = [
 [dependencies]
 hui-shared = { version = "0.1.0-alpha.5", path = "../hui-shared" }
 glam = "0.28"
+log = "0.4"
+rect_packer = "0.2" # TODO: use sth else like `crunch` instead?
+hashbrown = "0.14"
+nohash-hasher = "0.2"
diff --git a/hui-painter/src/lib.rs b/hui-painter/src/lib.rs
index da84108..f900b58 100644
--- a/hui-painter/src/lib.rs
+++ b/hui-painter/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,16 +1,5 @@
-//TODO painter rewrite
-
-mod rect;
-pub use rect::PaintRectParams;
-
-pub struct PaintTransformParams {
-  transform: glam::Affine2,
-}
-
-pub enum PaintCommand {
-  Rect(PaintRectParams),
-  Transform(PaintTransformParams, Box<PaintCommand>),
-}
+pub mod paint;
+pub mod texture;
 
 pub struct Painter {
 
diff --git a/hui-painter/src/paint.rs b/hui-painter/src/paint.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ab9e361
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hui-painter/src/paint.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+//TODO painter rewrite
+
+pub mod command;
+pub mod buffer;
diff --git a/hui-painter/src/paint/buffer.rs b/hui-painter/src/paint/buffer.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8244049
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hui-painter/src/paint/buffer.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+use glam::{Vec2, Vec4};
+
+pub struct Vertex {
+  pub position: Vec2, //Vec3,
+  pub uv: Vec2,
+  pub color: Vec4,
+}
+
+pub struct PaintBuffer {
+  pub vertices: Vec<Vertex>,
+  pub indices: Vec<u32>,
+}
+
+impl PaintBuffer {
+  pub fn new() -> Self {
+    Self {
+      vertices: Vec::new(),
+      indices: Vec::new(),
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+impl Default for PaintBuffer {
+  fn default() -> Self {
+    Self::new()
+  }
+}
diff --git a/hui-painter/src/paint/command.rs b/hui-painter/src/paint/command.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fc195f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hui-painter/src/paint/command.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+use crate::paint::buffer::PaintBuffer;
+
+mod transform;
+pub use transform::PaintTransform;
+
+mod rectangle;
+pub use rectangle::PaintRectangle;
+
+mod text;
+pub use text::PaintText;
+
+pub trait PaintCommand {
+  fn paint(&self, into: &mut PaintBuffer);
+}
diff --git a/hui-painter/src/paint/command/rectangle.rs b/hui-painter/src/paint/command/rectangle.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..75d2656
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hui-painter/src/paint/command/rectangle.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+use glam::{Vec2, vec2};
+use hui_shared::{color, rect::{Corners, FillColor}};
+use crate::paint::{
+  buffer::PaintBuffer,
+  command::PaintCommand,
+};
+
+pub struct PaintRectangle {
+  /// Color of the rectangle.
+  pub color: FillColor,
+
+  /// Texture to use for the rectangle.
+  pub texture: Option<u32>,
+
+  /// UV coords inside the texture
+  pub texture_uv: Corners<Vec2>,
+
+  /// Border width.
+  pub border_radius: Corners<f32>,
+
+  /// Border color.
+  pub border_radius_points_override: Option<f32>,
+}
+
+impl Default for PaintRectangle {
+  fn default() -> Self {
+    Self {
+      color: color::WHITE.into(),
+      texture: None,
+      texture_uv: Corners {
+        top_left: vec2(0., 0.),
+        top_right: vec2(1., 0.),
+        bottom_left: vec2(0., 1.),
+        bottom_right: vec2(1., 1.),
+      },
+      border_radius: Corners::all(0.0),
+      border_radius_points_override: None,
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+impl PaintCommand for PaintRectangle {
+  fn paint(&self, into: &mut PaintBuffer) {
+    todo!()
+  }
+}
diff --git a/hui-painter/src/paint/command/text.rs b/hui-painter/src/paint/command/text.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..51c9fdd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hui-painter/src/paint/command/text.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+use crate::paint::{
+  buffer::PaintBuffer,
+  command::PaintCommand,
+};
+
+pub struct PaintText {
+  //TODO: PaintText command
+}
+
+impl PaintCommand for PaintText {
+  fn paint(&self, into: &mut PaintBuffer) {
+    todo!()
+  }
+}
diff --git a/hui-painter/src/paint/command/transform.rs b/hui-painter/src/paint/command/transform.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..709cac7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hui-painter/src/paint/command/transform.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+use crate::paint::{
+  buffer::PaintBuffer,
+  command::PaintCommand,
+};
+
+//TODO: use generics instead
+
+pub struct PaintTransform {
+  pub transform: glam::Affine2,
+  pub children: Vec<Box<dyn PaintCommand>>,
+}
+
+impl PaintCommand for PaintTransform {
+  fn paint(&self, into: &mut PaintBuffer) {
+    // remember the starting index
+    let starting_index = into.vertices.len();
+
+    // paint children nodes
+    for child in &self.children {
+      child.paint(into);
+    }
+
+    // trans the children in-place
+    for vtx in &mut into.vertices[starting_index..] {
+      //TODO fix for rotation around the center of the object
+      vtx.position = self.transform.transform_point2(vtx.position);
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/hui-painter/src/rect.rs b/hui-painter/src/rect.rs
deleted file mode 100644
index fe9a6dd..0000000
--- a/hui-painter/src/rect.rs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-use glam::Vec2;
-use hui_shared::rect::{Corners, FillColor};
-
-pub struct PaintRectParams {
-  /// Color of the rectangle.
-  pub color: FillColor,
-
-  /// Border width.
-  pub border_radius: Corners<f32>,
-
-  /// Border color.
-  pub border_radius_points_override: Option<f32>,
-}
diff --git a/hui-painter/src/texture.rs b/hui-painter/src/texture.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0451609
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hui-painter/src/texture.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+pub(crate) mod atlas;
+pub use atlas::TextureHandle;
diff --git a/hui-painter/src/texture/atlas.rs b/hui-painter/src/texture/atlas.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a1a3d48
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hui-painter/src/texture/atlas.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,192 @@
+use glam::{UVec2, uvec2, ivec2};
+use rect_packer::DensePacker;
+use hashbrown::HashMap;
+use nohash_hasher::BuildNoHashHasher;
+
+//TODO support rotation
+const ALLOW_ROTATION: bool = false;
+
+const RGBA_BYTES_PER_PIXEL: usize = 4;
+
+fn assert_size(size: UVec2) {
+  assert!(
+    size.x > 0 &&
+    size.y > 0,
+    "size must be greater than 0"
+  );
+  assert!(
+    size.x <= i32::MAX as u32 &&
+    size.y <= i32::MAX as u32,
+    "size must be less than i32::MAX"
+  );
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone, Copy, Debug, Default)]
+pub enum SourceTextureFormat {
+  /// RGBA, 8-bit per channel\
+  /// (Default and preferred format)
+  #[default]
+  RGBA8,
+
+  /// RGB, 8-bit per channel
+  /// (Alpha channel is assumed to be 255)
+  RGB8,
+
+  /// Alpha only, 8-bit per channel
+  /// (All other channels are assumed to be 255 (white))
+  A8,
+
+  //TODO ARGB, BGRA, etc.
+}
+
+impl SourceTextureFormat {
+  pub const fn bytes_per_pixel(&self) -> usize {
+    match self {
+      SourceTextureFormat::RGBA8 => 4,
+      SourceTextureFormat::RGB8 => 3,
+      SourceTextureFormat::A8 => 1,
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+pub type TextureId = u32;
+
+#[derive(Clone, Copy)]
+pub struct TextureHandle {
+  pub(crate) id: TextureId,
+  pub(crate) size: UVec2,
+}
+
+struct TextureAllocation {
+  handle: TextureHandle,
+  offset: UVec2,
+  size: UVec2,
+}
+
+pub struct TextureAtlas {
+  size: UVec2,
+  data: Vec<u8>,
+  packer: DensePacker,
+  next_id: TextureId,
+  allocations: HashMap<TextureId, TextureAllocation, BuildNoHashHasher<TextureId>>,
+}
+
+impl TextureAtlas {
+  pub fn new(size: UVec2) -> Self {
+    assert_size(size);
+    let data_bytes = (size.x * size.y) as usize * RGBA_BYTES_PER_PIXEL;
+    Self {
+      size,
+      data: vec![0; data_bytes],
+      packer: DensePacker::new(
+        size.x as i32,
+        size.y as i32,
+      ),
+      next_id: 0,
+      allocations: HashMap::default(),
+    }
+  }
+
+  fn next_handle(&mut self, size: UVec2) -> TextureHandle {
+    let handle = TextureHandle {
+      id: self.next_id,
+      size,
+    };
+    self.next_id += 1;
+    handle
+  }
+
+
+  /// Allocate a texture in the atlas, returning a handle to it.\
+  /// The data present in the texture is undefined, and may include garbage data.
+  ///
+  /// # Panics
+  /// - If any of the dimensions of the texture are zero or exceed `i32::MAX`.
+  pub fn allocate(&mut self, size: UVec2) -> TextureHandle {
+    assert_size(size);
+
+    // Pack the texture
+    let pack = self.packer.pack(
+      size.x as i32,
+      size.y as i32,
+      ALLOW_ROTATION
+    );
+
+    //TODO: handle pack failure by either resizing the atlas or returning an error
+    let pack = pack.unwrap();
+    let offset = ivec2(pack.x, pack.y).as_uvec2();
+
+    // Allocate the texture
+    let handle = self.next_handle(size);
+    let allocation = TextureAllocation { handle, offset, size };
+    self.allocations.insert_unique_unchecked(handle.id, allocation);
+
+    handle
+  }
+
+  /// Allocate a texture in the atlas, returning a handle to it.\
+  /// The texture is initialized with the provided data.
+  ///
+  /// The source data must be in the format specified by the `format` parameter.\
+  /// (Please note that the internal format of the texture is always RGBA8, regardless of the source format.)
+  ///
+  /// # Panics
+  /// - If any of the dimensions of the texture are zero or exceed `i32::MAX`.
+  /// - The length of the data array is zero or not a multiple of the stride (stride = width * bytes per pixel).
+  pub fn allocate_with_data(&mut self, format: SourceTextureFormat, data: &[u8], width: usize) -> TextureHandle {
+    assert!(
+      !data.is_empty(),
+      "texture data must not be empty"
+    );
+
+    // Calculate the stride of the texture
+    let bytes_per_pixel = format.bytes_per_pixel();
+    let stride = bytes_per_pixel * width;
+    assert_eq!(
+      data.len() % stride, 0,
+      "texture data must be a multiple of the stride",
+    );
+
+    // Calculate the size of the texture
+    let size = uvec2(
+      width as u32,
+      (data.len() / stride) as u32,
+    );
+    assert_size(size);
+
+    // Allocate the texture
+    let handle = self.allocate(size);
+    let allocation = self.allocations.get(&handle.id).unwrap();
+
+    for y in 0..size.y {
+      for x in 0..size.x {
+        let src_idx = (y * size.x + x) as usize * bytes_per_pixel;
+        let dst_idx: usize = (
+          (allocation.offset.y + y) * size.x +
+          (allocation.offset.x + x)
+        ) as usize * RGBA_BYTES_PER_PIXEL;
+
+        let src = &data[src_idx..src_idx + bytes_per_pixel];
+        let dst = &mut self.data[dst_idx..dst_idx + RGBA_BYTES_PER_PIXEL];
+
+        match format {
+          SourceTextureFormat::RGBA8 => {
+            dst.copy_from_slice(src);
+          }
+          SourceTextureFormat::RGB8 => {
+            dst[..3].copy_from_slice(src);
+            dst[3] = 255;
+          }
+          SourceTextureFormat::A8 => {
+            dst[0] = src[0];
+            dst[1] = src[0];
+            dst[2] = src[0];
+            dst[3] = 255;
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    }
+
+    handle
+  }
+}
diff --git a/hui/src/color.rs b/hui-shared/src/color.rs
similarity index 100%
rename from hui/src/color.rs
rename to hui-shared/src/color.rs
diff --git a/hui-shared/src/lib.rs b/hui-shared/src/lib.rs
index 2330a35..00e9c99 100644
--- a/hui-shared/src/lib.rs
+++ b/hui-shared/src/lib.rs
@@ -1 +1,2 @@
 pub mod rect;
+pub mod color;
diff --git a/hui-wgpu/Cargo.toml b/hui-wgpu/Cargo.toml
index 4eb95eb..d2c717e 100644
--- a/hui-wgpu/Cargo.toml
+++ b/hui-wgpu/Cargo.toml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ repository = "https://github.com/griffi-gh/hui"
 readme = "../README.md"
 authors = ["griffi-gh <prasol258@gmail.com>"]
 version = "0.1.0-alpha.5"
-rust-version = "1.75"
+rust-version = "1.80"
 edition = "2021"
 license = "GPL-3.0-or-later"
 publish = true
diff --git a/hui/Cargo.toml b/hui/Cargo.toml
index d641899..3a0a2ec 100644
--- a/hui/Cargo.toml
+++ b/hui/Cargo.toml
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ description = "Simple UI library for games and other interactive applications"
 repository = "https://github.com/griffi-gh/hui"
 readme = "../README.md"
 authors = ["griffi-gh <prasol258@gmail.com>"]
-rust-version = "1.75"
+rust-version = "1.80"
 version = "0.1.0-alpha.5"
 edition = "2021"
 license = "GPL-3.0-or-later"