The representation and display of scenes with a wide range of detail

Abstract

The complexity of computer-generated scenes is often greater than the display can handle. As a result, it is important to be able to select a subset of the scene which is appropriate for display. Without this subset filtering, small objects are aliased, producing Moiré patterns, flickering, and other disturbing display artifacts. This paper presents a scene representation and an associated display algorithm that together provide ease of subset filtering. The scene is hierarchically constructed and the filter selects an appropriate subtree of the hierarchy for display. The bottom nodes of the display subtree are visually faded with their parent nodes to produce a pleasing fade-out of objects that approach the limit of resolution. Combined with conventional antialiasing, this technique produces satisfying images, both still and animated, of scenes with a wide range of detail.