pov-ray

pov-ray is a ray tracer. ray tracing is mathematically calculating how each pixel should look in a scene depending on the light source, the location of the camera, and other objects. these three factors are essential for every scene; without one of them, the scene would simply not exist.

"pov" stands for "persistence of vision." pov-ray is just one of many ray tracers available for a grand variety of platforms. for more information about pov-ray and about ray tracing in general, visit mr. hyatt's page.

scenes can be animated in pov-ray by rendering several different images and combining them into one. the "clock" variable is a parameter that is taken from the command line when the scene is rendered. the "clock" variable is then utilized throughout the pov-ray program to make the image different depending on what "clock" is.

the assignment was to get exposed to pov-ray and make an animated scene.

more

---