The progression of realism in computer generated images

The synthesis of continuous tone raster scan images has been the subject of considerable research effort over the past decade or so. Many algorithms have been developed during this period, and many significant advances have been made. However, very few images have been produced which require more than a moment's study to reveal their synthetic origins. This paper reviews the major issues of relevance to the goal of realism in synthetic images. The major achievements towards this goal are reviewed, and the main outstanding problems are identified.