Introduction

3D OR NOT 3D ? THAT IS THE QUESTION . . .

Numerous 3D rendering software is now available to easily play the power of computers.
It allows more and more people, artists or engineers, to produce photo-realistic images.

Each time one needs to VIEW something unreachable with a camera, whether it is because it does not exist or is out of scale for human eyes, one can use a computer.

However, how realistic can those images be? Anyone looking at the computer screen can perfectly SEE that he is looking at an image, not directly at a real scene, or model.

This difference comes from the fact that in our three dimensional real world our two eyes give us two different images.
This is because they are in two different positions in space, separated by an horizontal 2.5 inches offset (~6.5 cm).
The brain accepts the small horizontal disparity between those two images, and in return gives a single image with accurate depth perception.
This ability is known as stereoscopy.

Due to stereoscopy, you can perfectly notice the difference between a model car in a box and the image of it on the top of the box despite both having the same dimensions.
Looking to the model, you see in stereo as each eye has its own image of the car model.
But when looking at the image on the top, you see a flat image as both eyes are focused on the same image.

Now, as we know the difference between "flat viewing" and "stereo viewing", let's see how to use the first to create the second.