1. A method of generating an attribute map for processing an image by an image processing device, the method comprising: Receiving, by a computing device, an image encoded into a plurality of segments, each segment being characterised by a position within a base region associated with the image and being encoded according to a corresponding encoding format; decoding, by the computing device, a segment from the plurality of segments stored on a storage device into a sub-image, the sub-image being associated with a combination operation and an attribute value derived based on at least one of a segment decoding format and a segment encoding format, the combination operation determining a process of combining the sub-image with the underlying base region; determining, by a computing device at least one information-carrying pixel in the sub-image based on the sub-image pixel content stored on the storage device and the attribute value associated with the sub-image; and generating, by the computer device, the attribute map for processing the image by the image processing device, the attribute map being generated using the attribute value associated with the sub-image for at least one pixel of the attribute map.