Scanline Rendering

Scanline rendering is a method of determining which parts of objects are visible to the viewpoint in a given frame. It is a quick and dirty method, in which the viewing frustrum is considered rather than the objects.

Working row by row, usually starting at the top, in the same manner to a broadcast TV update, the method sorts objects into a z order, and then sees what can be seen by that row. Individual polygons are not considered at all, as occlusion as necessary will be carried out by the next row. As each row is thus an independent entity, scanline errors may crop up where one or more rows don?t mesh with the scene quite right. This can be counteracted by using more rows than the viewing frustrum can take, then averaging the result.

Some older methods of scanline rendering use columns instead of rows.

One notable issue with scanline rendering is that point to point lighting techniques such as raycasting or raytracing are completely incompatible. On the other hand, it is an extremely fast render method suitable for when high frame rates are demanded.

Below, we offer a selection of links from our resource databases which may match this term.

Caustic Shading

Caustics

Scanline Rendering

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Volumetric Rendering in Realtime
A brief but thorough multi-part article from Gamasutra, on creating volumetric rendering in real-time, for use in fog, fluid, and other effects, which correctly affect light at any point through them.

Real-Time Rendering, Third Edition

A required reading book on real-time scene rendering that has been around for years, this book serves as a holistic, platform-independent guide for creating high frame rate renders that are as realistic as possible for the hardware available ? and teaches you where the bottlenecks are in the process so that you learn how to gauge new hardware from spec and understand how it will directly impact performance.

Deep-Water Animation and Rendering
An extremely long, and exhaustive article, covering just about everything you need to know to produce very realistic bodies of water.

Rendering a VR for Viruses
University of Melbourne researchers have been utilising the full power of a dedicated IBM Blue Gene supercomputer to run a single massive virtual reality system - simulating the common cold virus inside and out. The purpose? To defeat it.

When Augmented Security Goes Pear Shaped
It has been revealed that a biometric pattern recognition system in use at Japan's airports has been bypassed for an unknown amount of time, effectively rendering it worthless, and raising questions about the reliance on technology as a 'watertight' security measure.

Knick Knack
Made in 1989, Knick Knack was a three minute short CG animation by Pixar Studios, featuring what was then the cutting edge of rendering capability, way beyond what real-time renders were capable of. To put it in perspective, this was just six years before Toy Story was released.

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