Editing Rendering (computer graphics) (section)

=== 3D geometry ===
A geometric scene description may include:{{r|n=Raghavachary2005|loc=Ch. 4-7, 8.7}}{{r|n=pbrt4FF}}
* Size, position, and orientation of [[geometric primitive]]s such as spheres and cones (which may be [[Constructive solid geometry|combined in various ways]] to create more complex objects)
* [[Vertex (geometry)|Vertex]] [[Cartesian coordinate system|coordinates]] and [[Normal (geometry)|surface normal]] [[Euclidean vector|vectors]] for [[Polygon mesh|meshes]] of triangles or polygons (often rendered as smooth surfaces by [[Subdivision surface|subdividing]] the mesh)
* [[Geometric transformation|Transformations]] for positioning, rotating, and scaling objects within a scene (allowing parts of the scene to use different local coordinate systems).
* "Camera" information describing how the scene is being viewed (position, direction, [[focal length]], and [[field of view]])
* Light information (location, type, brightness, and color)
* Optical properties of surfaces, such as [[albedo]], [[Surface roughness|roughness]], and [[refractive index]],
* Optical properties of media through which light passes (transparent solids, liquids, clouds, smoke), e.g. [[Absorption cross section|absorption]] and [[Cross section (physics)#Scattering of light|scattering]] cross sections
* [[Bitmap]] image data used as [[Texture mapping|texture maps]] for surfaces
* Small scripts or programs for generating complex 3D shapes or scenes [[Procedural generation|procedurally]]
* Description of how object and camera locations and other information change over time, for rendering an animation

Many file formats exist for storing individual 3D objects or "[[3D modeling|models]]". These can be imported into a larger scene, or loaded on-demand by rendering software or games. A realistic scene may require hundreds of items like household objects, vehicles, and trees, and [[Environment artist|3D artists]] often utilize large libraries of models. In game production, these models (along with other data such as textures, audio files, and animations) are referred to as "[[Digital asset|assets]]".{{r|n=BlenderImportExport}}{{r|n=Dunlop2014|loc=Ch. 4}}