Cartographic Rendering of Elevation Surfaces using Procedural Contour Lines

Abstract

We describe a method to render a height field given on a triangular mesh in a manner that is similar to wellknown cartographic map views. This approach utilizes hypsometric tints and creates topographic contour lines procedurally as part of the rendering process. We discuss essential graphical enhancement techniques such as line smoothing, gradient compensation, contour line visibility fading, nonlinear elevation mapping, and shininess variation. The method is exemplified upon various numerical data sets from application sciences, demonstrating its ability to visually allow quantitative and qualitative precise assessment of the data values.