1 z-buffer and shading ©Anthony Steed 1999

2 Overview n Coping with depth Scan-line depth buffering Z-buffer Recursive sub-division Trade-offs n gouraud shading n phong shading

3 Extending the AET n Easy enough if polygon do NOT intersect n Put all polygon edges into ET with extra depth information and proceed as before except … n … now consider overlapping ranges of edges

4 AET Example

5 AET Example Notes n Our edge table must contain data which enables us to look up z at at intersection point n From x1 to x2 only A is considered. n At x2 A and B are considered plane equations are solved to get depth A is closest so x2 to x3 is filled as A n At x3 A finishes so we draw B from x3 to x4 n At x4 B and C are considered, B in front etc… n Would usually store this in a 1D BSP tree for large numbers of polygons!

6 zbuffer n Don’t bother with per span tests - just test every pixel n Most common usage is a a full window sized array (M*N) of 16, 24 or 32 bit “depth” values. n Basic idea: For each pixel in each polygon –IF col = colour on polygon at unprojected point x,y –If z < ZBUF[x,y] set CBUF[x,y] = col Initialise buffer to Z_MAX

7 Zbuffer Details n Can do this in several ways n 1D z-buffer re-used on each scan line Process each polygon with separate AET Use as adjunct to extended AET for multiple polygons n Problems … Aliasing on depth (z-buffer tearing)

8 Scanning Depth into the Zbuffer n Now we have to write a z-value for each point directly from plane equation (re-calculate for each point) incremental across the scan-line (store z_start and dz) interpolate …

9 Interpolating Depth n Interpolate z along edges AND interpolate between edges on each scan-line (bi-linear interpolation) (X1,Y1,Z1) (X2,Y2,Z2) (XL,YL,ZL) (XR,YR,ZR)

10 Zbuffer Fill Example n General form of ET (y2,x1,dx/dy,z1,dz/dy) n ET[1] = ac (7,3,1/6,1,3/6) ab (4,3,4/3,1,1/3) n ET[4] = cb (7,7,-1,2,2/3) a=(3,1,1) b=(7,4,2) c=(4,7,4)

11 …Contents of AET n Scanline y=1 ac (7,3,1/6,1,3/6) ab (4,3,4/3,1,1/3) zspans 1 to 1 n y=2 ac (7,3.166,1/6,1.5,3/6) ab (4,4.333,4/3, 1.333, 1/3) zspans 1.5 to n y3 ac (7,3.333,1/6,2.0,3/6) ab (4,5.666, 4/3, 1.666, 1/3) zspans 2 to 1.666

12 Recursive Subdivision Visibility n The window is covered by a polygon that is in front of all others (draw it) n The window does not intersect a polygon (draw nothing) n The window overlaps a single polygon (draw it clipped) n The window contains a single polygon (draw it unclipped) n ELSE quarter rectangle and repeat

13 Trade-Offs n Zbuffer can be inaccurate with few bits really simple to implement though! n Scan-line AET good for large polygons good coherency across lines requires non-intersecting polygons n zbuffer good for small, sparse polygons AET more time consuming to maintain

14 Gouraud Shading n Recall simple model for local diffuse reflection n Gouraud interpolates this colour down edges and across scan-lines in the same manner as we just did for depth

15 Gouraud Details n ET now contains (y2,x1,dx,z1,dz,r1,dr,g1,dg,b1,db) –(we are running out of registers!) n Problems not constant colour on rotation of points misses specular highlights

16 Phong Shading n Include specular component n Interpolate normals across the scan-line instead of colours n Recaptures highlights in the centre of polygons