SUBDIVISION SURFACES FOR FAST APPROXIMATE IMPLICIT POLYGONIZATION

Abstract

We propose a fast method of generating an approximate polygonal mesh from an implicit surface. Current workstations are still not capable of producing polygon meshes fast enough for the interactive modeling of complex implicit models. We propose a hybrid method that combines current implicit polygonization techniques with the faster sub-division surface technique applied as a post-process to smooth the implicit mesh. In an interactive environment the smooth mesh points can be migrated to the implicit surface, in idle moments when the user is not interacting with the model. The technique can be further enhanced by providing tools for the user to indicate areas of interest that can be preferentially smoothed.