An Efficient 2½ D rendering and Compositing System

We describe a method for doing image compositing using either 2D geometric shapes or raster images as input primitives. The resolution of the final image is virtually unlimited but, as no frame buffer is used, performance is much less dependant on resolution than with standard painting programs, allowing rendering very large images in reasonable time. Many standard features found in compositing programs have been implemented, like hierarchical data structures for input primitives, lighting control for each layer and filter operations (for antialiasing or defocus).