Patent ID: 8174528

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, in at least one storage device, information corresponding to at least a portion of the surface that includes polygons forming the surface detail; tessellating the surface using the computer device, wherein the surface assumes the lower resolution; determining, while the image is at the lower resolution and using the stored information and using the computer device, a shading sample for at least one of the polygons of the larger size that includes the surface detail; and storing the shading sample in the storage device.