Section: New Results

Rendering, Visualization and Illustration

Figure 10. The occluding contours of the 3D model “Origins of the Pig” by Keenan Crane, shown in (a) with diffuse shading, are depicted in (b) with calligraphic brush strokes.

(a) 3D object with diffuse shading (b) Stylized curves

Line drawings from 3D models: a tutorial

Publication: [7]

This tutorial describes the geometry and algorithms for generating line drawings from 3D models, focusing on occluding contours. The geometry of occluding contours on meshes and on smooth surfaces is described in detail, together with algorithms for extracting contours, computing their visibility, and creating stylized renderings and animations. Exact methods and hardware-accelerated fast methods are both described, and the trade-offs between different methods are discussed. The tutorial brings together and organizes material that, at present, is scattered throughout the literature. It also includes some novel explanations, and implementation tips. A thorough survey of the field of non-photorealistic 3D rendering is also included, covering other kinds of line drawings and artistic shading (Figure 10). In addition, we provide an interactive viewer at https://benardp.github.io/contours_viewer/.