Shadow Mapping Algorithms: A Complete Survey

In the field of computer realistic graphics, shadow is helpful to improve image realism as well as provide some visual cues about information of scenes. Shadow mapping, an image-based shadow generating approach, has been incorporated into graphics hardware due to its simplicity and flexibility. At present, many variations of the method have been proposed to improve the efficiency and performance of the original technology. In this paper, we have systemized and classified these techniques. Basic ideas, implementations and improvements of the technology are also comprehensively summarized and deeply analyzed.