ABSTRACT
There is a certain amount of confusion surrounding the term‘global illumination’, but the key to understanding it lies in the first half of the phrase. This refers to the way an object is lit by its surroundings, in effect the global contents of the scene being rendered. This may well seem excessive, but the detail and depth of these images is simply not possible using other methods. Within the umbrella of global illumination lies several algorithms and methods, including raytracing and radiosity, which have been gathering momentum for well over a decade and are now firmly established within most 3D applications.
