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Published July 1982 | public
Journal Article

A Generalization of Algebraic Surface Drawing

Abstract

The mathematical description of three-dimensional surfaces usually falls into one of two classifications: parametric and implicit. An implicit surface is defined to be all points which satisfy some equation F (x, y, z) = 0. This form is ideally suited for image space shaded picture drawing; the pixel coordinates are substituted for x and y, and the equation is solved for z. Algorithms for drawing such objects have been developed primarily for fLrst- and second-order polynomial functions, a subcategory known as algebraic surfaces. This paper presents a new algorithm applicable to other functional forms, in particular to the summation of several Gaussian density distributions. The algorithm was created to model electron density maps of molecular structures, but it can be used for other artistically interesting shapes.

Additional Information

© 1982 ACM. Received March 1982; revised May 1982; accepted May 1982. The research described in this paper was carried out by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 19, 2023