Renderer

A renderer is a software component or hardware that converts a description of a three-dimensional scene into a two-dimensional image. In computer graphics, rendering generates an image from models, lighting, textures, and camera parameters. Renderers are used in film production, video games, architectural visualization, and other fields that require image synthesis.

Renderers are categorized by how they produce images: real-time renderers, designed for interactive frame rates, and offline or production renderers, aimed at higher fidelity and photorealism. They differ in technique as well: rasterization, ray tracing, path tracing, or combinations thereof. Rasterization converts geometry into pixels quickly, while ray tracing simulates light paths for realism; path tracing uses stochastic sampling to approximate global illumination. Some modern systems employ hybrid approaches that mix techniques to balance speed and quality.

A typical rendering pipeline includes scene description, geometric processing, shading and lighting, texture mapping, and image synthesis with anti-aliasing and tone mapping. Advanced renderers compute global illumination, reflections, refractions, shadows, and ambient occlusion. Rendering often relies on shading languages such as GLSL, HLSL, or OSL and on hardware acceleration via GPUs or CPUs.

Examples of renderers include production tools like Pixar RenderMan, Arnold, V-Ray, and Redshift, as well as real-time engines in Unreal Engine and Unity. Renderers operate through graphics APIs such as OpenGL, DirectX, Vulkan, or Metal, and can be integrated into content creation software or game engines. Performance is measured by render time, frames per second for real-time work, image quality, and memory usage. The choice of renderer depends on requirements for speed, realism, and workflow integration.