When creating 3D graphics for clients, a computer graphics card can create more realistic curves in CG models via a rendering process known as tessellation. Tessellation can reduce workload by allowing an animator or 3D modeler to create a low-count polygon model and then allow the tessellation process to create finer details without having to devote intensive time to rendering it personally.
Polygons and Displacement Mapping
Tessellation takes a larger polygon and divides it into smaller triangles. This division by itself does not make for more realistic models but leads to the use of something known as displacement mapping. This type of texturing uses height information to move these new triangles up or down along their vertices. This helps create the illusion of smoothness and perfection in curved surfaces on 3D models.
Distance and Scalability
While tessellation requires solid computer system resources, it implements itself intelligently in the context of a game or program. Graphics that appear far away are not tessellated, while a zoomed-in image will undergo tessellation. The more a user zooms in on an image, the more it will tessellate, making it highly scalable and useful for a high number of applications.
Tessellation first arrived on the Xbox 360‘s ATI Xenos graphics card, followed by the ATI Radeon HD 5000 series cards. This ATI Radeon card became the first to make use of DirectX 11 followed by the NVIDIA Fermi card. As of July 2013, NVIDIA’s newest graphics card line, the GeForce GTX 4xx series, champions its newest tessellation capabilities.
The future of tessellation as a method of rendering realistic 3D graphics remains secure. While other methods of rendering curves do exist, tessellation continues to reduce work loads on animators, modelers and other CG graphics professionals. Manufacturers of graphics cards continue to innovate and develop tessellation technology, fine-tuning it as the industry continues to demand more photo-realistic graphics.
You must install a graphics card that supports tessellation, as well as a CPU and RAM to support the graphics card. You can find these specific requirements in your graphics card’s user manual. Any type of 3D graphics work whether you're playing a 3D game, displaying a model or creating and animating models that will require a high-end computer system. This will involve a greater investment of money and resources for your business.