Patent ID: 8610716

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for retaining a surface detail, the method comprising: identifying, using a computer device, a surface that is to be used for generating an image in a rendering process, the surface including polygons to be changed from an initial size to a larger size as the surface is changed to a lower resolution as part of tessellating the surface, wherein the surface includes at least one surface detail smaller than the larger polygon size; storing, using at least one storage device, information corresponding to at least a portion of the surface that includes polygons of the initial size that form the surface detail; tessellating the surface, wherein the surface assumes the lower resolution; determining, while the image is at the lower resolution and using the stored information, a shading sample for at least one of the polygons of the larger size that includes the surface detail, wherein the shading sample includes a light contribution of the surface detail; and generating the image in the rendering process using the determined shading sample.