Renderering

Renderering is the process of generating a visual image from a 3D scene or model using computer graphics. In Dutch-language contexts the term renderering is used to refer to rendering in this sense. The process translates geometric and material information into pixels on a display, applying lighting, shading, textures and effects to create a final image or sequence.

Rendering can be categorized into real-time renderering and offline renderering. Real-time renderering aims to produce images at interactive frame rates, as in video games and simulations, and relies on speed-oriented techniques and optimized GPU pipelines. Offline renderering prioritizes visual fidelity and sometimes physically accurate light transport, often allowing longer render times per frame.

Common rendering techniques include rasterization, used in most real-time systems, which converts 3D primitives into pixels with shading and texturing. Ray tracing and path tracing simulate the paths of light rays to achieve realistic reflections, refractions and global illumination, typically used in offline rendering or with hardware-accelerated real-time ray tracing. Radiosity and photon mapping are older global illumination methods.

Key components of a renderering workflow include a scene description (geometry, materials, lights), a camera model, the rendering engine, and post-processing. Modern pipelines often employ physically based rendering (PBR) to ensure consistent material appearances under different lighting, as well as anti-aliasing, depth of field, motion blur, and denoising.

Applications span film and television VFX, video games, architectural visualization, product design and virtual production. Ongoing developments include AI-assisted rendering, real-time ray tracing, and improved denoising and upscaling technologies to balance speed and realism.