Essay On Flat Shading

Introduction to Shading models

Images which are having visual realism are an effective means of sharing ideas and designs for the designers. Shading is one of the major tools which are used to create the images that are quite realistic. Shaded images with quite high degree of realism are able to create the impression that these images are realistic objects and are not just artifacts or geometric models. The shaded images with raised level of quality give an easy, more interactive and less costly way of reviewing various design alternatives than designing actual models or prototypes. Virtual graphics provides multidimensional views and is very effective. When the geometric model of an object is prepared and is transformed according to the viewing conditions, the image surfaces are shaded and are then analyzed from an artistic point of view to estimate how good a model will be when it is finally released

Flat Shading

A. Z-Flat Shading:

It is an uneven looking shading method which can be implemented by providing a polygon the color intensity value depending on the z coordinate average value of the polygon’s vertices: I = Imax – (vertex1.z + vertex2.z + vertex3.z)/a,

Where a is some appropriate number, dividing by a one get average value of z that ranges from 0 to maximum intensity. There is an assumption that z is directing inside the plane of the screen. Therefore, the intensity reduces as the point moves farther away from the screen. Drawbacks: Some of the drawbacks of this method are:

1. When we are calculating the color of the polygons, such as KLGH and OPKL in which the point K is common for both the polygons, the color value for the points that are nearer to K will be different if all the points of each polygon do not have the same average depth value.

2. The color changes suddenly.

But still this method is commonly used because it is quite faster and is easy to