One of the many strengths of Linux is its good range of open source software for artists, photographers, animators, and designers. With inexpensive hardware, free software, and a modicum of talent and inspiration, anyone can create professional-looking computer graphics.
Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model (or a collection of models, known as a scene file) using computer software. This entails the computer software to perform calculations to translate the scene from a mathematical approximation to a 2D image. To generate the image, the scene file contains objects in a defined language or data structure, containing geometry, lighting, shading, texture, and viewpoint. This data is processed by the rendering software to generate a raster image file or a digital image. There are three main computational techniques used by rendering software; scanline, raytracing, and radiosity. Rendering is a CPU-intensive process, so some software also makes use of the Graphics processing unit (GPU) to speed up the process. Images can be rendered by a single computer or with a network of computers that work on a different part of the image.