Rendering Generalized Cylinders Using the A-buer Rendering Generalized Cylinders Using the A-buer

A variety of objects modelled in computer graphics can be e ciently approximated with generalized cylinders, particularly when they are viewed at a relatively small scale. In this thesis we present a unique way of rendering generalized cylinders using polygonbased projective rendering: a rendering meta-primitive called the paintstroke. Paintstrokes allow for the concise modelling and e cient dynamic tessellation of generalized cylinders, making direct use of their screen-space projections so as to minimize the number of polygons required to construct their images. The resulting savings in vertex transformations, rasterization overhead, and edge antialiasing more than repay the cost of the tessellation. Used in conjunction with our A-Bu er polygon renderer, paintstrokes achieve a good balance of speed and image quality when drawn at small to medium scales, generally surpassing other methods for rendering generalized cylinders.