Ray tracing

Figure 7.1: The first step in a ray tracing approach is called ray casting, which extends a viewing ray that corresponds to a particular pixel on the image. The ray starts at the focal point, which is the origin after the eye transform $T_{eye}$ has been applied. The task is to determine what part of the virtual world model is visible. This is the closest intersection point between the viewing ray and the set of all triangles.

To calculate the RGB values at a pixel, a viewing ray is drawn from the focal point through the center of the pixel on a virtual screen that is placed in the virtual world; see Figure 7.1. The process is divided into two phases:

1. Ray casting, in which the viewing ray is defined and its nearest point of intersection among all triangles in the virtual world is calculated.
2. Shading, in which the pixel RGB values are calculated based on lighting conditions and material properties at the intersection point.

The first step is based entirely on the virtual world geometry. The second step uses simulated physics of the virtual world. Both the material properties of objects and the lighting conditions are artificial, and are chosen to produce the desired effect, whether realism or fantasy. Remember that the ultimate judge is the user, who interprets the image through perceptual processes.