Frame coherent 3D stippling for non-photorealistic computer graphics

This thesis deals with the question of how to produce non-photorealistic stippling ani-mations of 3D models. Non-photorealistic animation techniques ought to take into account three important issues that arise when applying 2D drawing styles to 3D model rendering: frame-coherence, scalability and view-dependance, and rendition of animated models. To deal with these issues, the author proposes point hierarchies as an integral and modular technique to generate non-photorealistic animations, and describes how point hierarchies are used to produce stippling animations of static and animated models which are frame-coherent, view-dependant and scalable. Two different approaches to create such point hierarchies are provided and applications of animated stippling are shown in the areas of cartoon animation, medical illustration, real-time rendering, and archaeology. Foreword When I started my Ph.D four years ago, I was given the task of further developing existing work in NPR done here at the Institute of Simulation and Graphics. This thesis is the result of this request. As I started to write it, I wanted to make it not only comprehensible for the specialized reader, but also I wanted any interested reader to understand the place of this work within the area of Non-Photorealistic Rendering / Computer Graphics, for which the first two chapters were mostly devoted. For the specialist in Computer Graphics, I also wanted to write a detailed description of both the challenges that I faced at the beginning of the work, my solutions to these challenges, and the reason other solutions were not considered or discarded at the time. The final chapters of the thesis are the results of the work, they deal with the areas of application and the possibilities which are left open for future research. There is a number of people who should receive credit for their friendly support and collaboration during this work. I would like to thank my supervisor Prof. Dr. Thomas Strothotte, who provided me with a number of challenges, visions and strategic support during the development of this work, in conjunction with a great deal of research independence. Also, I would like to thank Prof. Drs. Eduard Gröller and Wolfgang Strasser, for their careful revision of the dissertation and their valuable comments. Thanks a lot to Felix Ritter, Ralf Helbing and Nick Halper for their "technical support" in the form of advices, tips and hints during the development of this work. Whenever there was a problem with OpenGL, Latex, or with …