3D model in the context of "Shading"

William Fetter, also known as William Allan Fetter or Bill Fetter (March 14, 1928 – June 23, 2002), was an American graphic designer and pioneer in the field of computer graphics. He explored the perspective fundamentals of computer animation of a human figure from 1960 on and was the first to create a human figure as a 3D model. The First Man was a pilot in a short 1964 computer animation, also known as Boeing Man and now as Boeman by the Boeing company. Fetter preferred the term "Human Figure" for the pilot. In 1960, working in a team supervised by Verne Hudson, he helped coin the term Computer graphics. He was art director at the Boeing Company in Wichita.

Procedural modeling is an umbrella term for a number of techniques in computer graphics to create 3D models and textures from sets of rules that may be easily changed over time. L-Systems, fractals, and generative modeling are procedural modeling techniques since they apply algorithms for producing scenes. The set of rules may either be embedded into the algorithm, configurable by parameters, or the set of rules is separate from the evaluation engine. The output is called procedural content, which can be used in computer games, films, be uploaded to the internet, or the user may edit the content manually. Procedural models often exhibit database amplification, meaning that large scenes can be generated from a much smaller number of rules. If the employed algorithm produces the same output every time, the output need not be stored. Often, it suffices to start the algorithm with the same random seed to achieve this.

Although all modeling techniques on a computer require algorithms to manage and store data at some point, procedural modeling focuses on creating a model from a rule set, rather than editing the model manually by using user input, in order to make modifying model in the future easier. The parameters that define a model may be dependent on parameters or geometry from another model making modelling process very flexible. Procedural modeling is often applied when it would be too cumbersome to create a 3D model using generic 3D modelers, or when more specialized tools are required. This is often the case for plants, architecture or landscapes.

Rendering is the process of generating a photorealistic or non-photorealistic image from input data such as 3D models. The word "rendering" (in one of its senses) originally meant the task performed by an artist when depicting a real or imaginary thing (the finished artwork is also called a "rendering"). Today, to "render" commonly means to generate an image or video from a precise description (often created by an artist) using a computer program.

A software application or component that performs rendering is called a rendering engine, render engine, rendering system, graphics engine, or simply a renderer.

Visual computing is a generic term for all computer science disciplines dealing with images and 3D models, such as computer graphics, image processing, visualization, computer vision, virtual and augmented reality, video processing, and computational visualistics. Visual computing also includes aspects of pattern recognition, human computer interaction, machine learning and digital libraries. The core challenges are the acquisition, processing, analysis and rendering of visual information (mainly images and video). Application areas include industrial quality control, medical image processing and visualization, surveying, robotics, multimedia systems, virtual heritage, special effects in movies and television, and ludology. Visual computing also includes digital art and digital media studies.

A structured-light 3D scanner is a device used to capture the three-dimensional shape of an object by projecting light patterns, such as grids or stripes, onto its surface. The deformation of these patterns is recorded by cameras and processed using specialized algorithms to generate a detailed 3D model.

Structured-light 3D scanning is widely employed in fields such as industrial design, quality control, cultural heritage preservation, augmented reality gaming, and medical imaging. Compared to laser-based 3D scanning, structured-light scanners use non-coherent light sources, such as LEDs or projectors, which enable faster data acquisition and eliminate potential safety concerns associated with lasers. However, the accuracy of structured-light scanning can be influenced by external factors, including ambient lighting conditions and the reflective properties of the scanned object.

Pixabay.com is a free stock photography and royalty-free stock media website. It is used for sharing photos, illustrations, vector graphics, film footage, stock music, sound effects, 3D models and animated GIFs, exclusively under the custom Pixabay Content License, which generally allows the free use of the material with some restrictions. The site's images are allowed to be used for free without attribution, and allowed to be modified and adapted into new works. Pixabay does not allow users to sell or distribute the content as is, use it commercially if it contains recognizable trademarks, or use photos in immoral, illegal, misleading, or deceptive ways.

The overall quality of the photos on the service has been described as "mediocre for the most part" and "variable", but covering a "wide range of subjects." The total number of assets is over 5.2 million as of December, 2024, with a total download tally of over 6 billion and over 400 thousand creators.