Patent ID: 7176944

Claim:
A method of generating a colored or shaded texture for images, the images to be displayed on a display device or printed, said method including the steps of: (a) providing a plurality of shape elements, each shape element defining a surface; (b) assigning a focal point to each of the shape elements, wherein each shape element has an opacity that varies over its surface according to a distance from a corresponding focal point; (c) identifying a plurality of substantially equidistant points within a predetermined region of the images; (d) placing a shape element at each identified point, such that adjacent shape elements overlap with each other to fill the predetermined region of the images such that the region when so filled has a substantially uniform opacity; and (e) rendering the shape elements for output to a printer or display device, such that an interference of the opacities of the overlapping elements generates a colored or shaded texture.