A Tutorial Introduction to Blossoming

A powerful new technique for analyzing Bezier and B-spline curves and surfaces has been developed recently by Ramshaw and de Casteljau. The method, called blossoming or polarization, is based on an old idea from multilinear algebra where polynomials are studied by replacing them with simple multivariable functions. The purpose of these notes is to provide a brief tutorial introduction to the basic concepts and uses of the technique. Several implementation consequences are also identified.