Non-photorealistic rendering in the context of Scientific visualization

3D rendering is the 3D computer graphics process of converting 3D models into 2D images on a computer. 3D renders may include photorealistic effects or non-photorealistic styles.

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.

Low poly is a polygon mesh in 3D computer graphics that has a relatively small number of polygons. Low poly meshes occur in real-time applications (e.g. games) as contrast with high poly meshes in animated movies and special effects of the same era. The term low poly is used in both a technical and a descriptive sense; the number of polygons in a mesh is an important factor to optimize for performance but can give an undesirable appearance to the resulting graphics.

Derived from 3D objects with a low polygon content is low poly art, a minimalistic and non-photorealistic art style in which images or figures are created from a network of just a few connected points.