GENERATING HIGH QUALITY PICTURES BY RAY-TRACING

Abstract

Ray-casting techniques provide a very general framework in which many problems can be solved in a much easier way than with conventional methods. This is particularly true for the illumination model when a high level of realism is required. Another interesting feature of ray-casting is its ability to display a wide class of algebraic surfaces with a minimum of approximations. Both aspects are developped in this paper where a full lighting model, based on a theoritical approach, is presented. Then, an algorithm for the display of surfaces of revolution is described.