Painter's algorithm: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:52, 18 October 2006

Revision as of 23:37, 22 October 2006

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TheTThe '''painter's algorithm''', also known as a '''priority fill''', is one of the simplest solutions to the [[visibility problem]] in [[3D computer graphics]]. When projecting a 3D scene onto a 2D plane, it is at some point necessary to decide which [[polygon]]s are visible and which are [[Hidden surface determination|hidden]].

The name "painter's algorithm" refers to a simple-minded painter who paints the distant parts of a scene at first and then covers them by those parts which are nearer. The painter's algorithm sorts all the polygons in a scene by their depth and then paints them in this order. It will over-paint the parts that are normally not visible and thus solves the visibility problem.