The More Photorealistic the Rendering the Longer the 3D Takes
It is important to say that the more photorealistic the rendering, the longer it takes the computer to figure out how to paint all the details of an image; so long in fact, that those forms are not really feasible for easy maneuvering and modeling within digital space.
There are some forms of shaded rendering that are fairly feasible for today's technology to handle.
The most popular form of late is the technology developed by SGI (Silicon Graphics Inc.
) called OpenGL.
OpenGL is a fast rendering algorithm that can be very effectively sped up by the right hardware.
Most mid- to high-end video cards now are OpenGL accelerated.
OpenGL is powerful in its ability to quickly draw lit models that show the textures applied to the model's surface.
It is still a rough form in many instances, but it gives a good idea of overall color and position.
Both Strata's StudioPro and NewTek's LightWave, which we will cover, use OpenGL heavily.
Not all applications use OpenGL, however.
For instance, Cinema4D, another program covered, uses gouraund shading.
Other applications use other high-speed libraries (e.
g.
, Heidi, Quickdraw3D, etc.
).
The point of all of these low-end shaded renderers is to provide the modeler a quick look at roughly how the light and texture falls across the surface of the objects present.
Sometimes, understanding the form is more important than seeing color and light on the surface.
For instance, a typical exercise in almost every beginning drawing course is to "draw through" the object; that is, the student draws the backsides of the objects through the space presenting the front side.
The motive behind this exercise is to better understand the form.
The computer has many ways of "drawing through" objects to allow you, the creator, to understand the form of the models present more fully.
These include outline, pointcloud, and wireframe.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of these rendering systems is the speed in which they redraw; the computer is able to quickly paint pictures on your screen using these methods.
As models become more complex and the computer has to deal with more and more information, it takes longer and longer for it to draw the information you have given it.
Sometimes, the models become so complex that using any other form of rendering is simply too time consuming, and these methods are how you work the majority of the project.
There are some forms of shaded rendering that are fairly feasible for today's technology to handle.
The most popular form of late is the technology developed by SGI (Silicon Graphics Inc.
) called OpenGL.
OpenGL is a fast rendering algorithm that can be very effectively sped up by the right hardware.
Most mid- to high-end video cards now are OpenGL accelerated.
OpenGL is powerful in its ability to quickly draw lit models that show the textures applied to the model's surface.
It is still a rough form in many instances, but it gives a good idea of overall color and position.
Both Strata's StudioPro and NewTek's LightWave, which we will cover, use OpenGL heavily.
Not all applications use OpenGL, however.
For instance, Cinema4D, another program covered, uses gouraund shading.
Other applications use other high-speed libraries (e.
g.
, Heidi, Quickdraw3D, etc.
).
The point of all of these low-end shaded renderers is to provide the modeler a quick look at roughly how the light and texture falls across the surface of the objects present.
Sometimes, understanding the form is more important than seeing color and light on the surface.
For instance, a typical exercise in almost every beginning drawing course is to "draw through" the object; that is, the student draws the backsides of the objects through the space presenting the front side.
The motive behind this exercise is to better understand the form.
The computer has many ways of "drawing through" objects to allow you, the creator, to understand the form of the models present more fully.
These include outline, pointcloud, and wireframe.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of these rendering systems is the speed in which they redraw; the computer is able to quickly paint pictures on your screen using these methods.
As models become more complex and the computer has to deal with more and more information, it takes longer and longer for it to draw the information you have given it.
Sometimes, the models become so complex that using any other form of rendering is simply too time consuming, and these methods are how you work the majority of the project.
