CompuServe Thread

<< A friend and I have a bit of a dissagreement concerning the rendering superiority of Phong vs. Metal. What I simply want to know is which one of these two rendering types is superior.>> Kyle, I'm not sure that I would say that one is superior over the other. Quality-wise, they are very similar as both shade every pixel of each face. When you choose PHONG or choose METAL, what you are choosing is the specific algorithim or illumination model to use during the rendering. In the case of METAL, you choose the Cook/Torrance model. This illumination model mixes the ambient and diffuse colors differently than PHONG, and has more contrast in the specular highlight. These effects tend to produce a surface that could be described as more metalic in appearance, hence the METAL name. Perhaps Gary or others may have a different or more detailed opinion. -Brian

Is an apple superior to an orange? Neither Phong nor Metal are superior to the other, unless you first define what you want your surface to look like. Metal is superior to Phong if the surface is to absorb and reflect light using the characteristics of metallic objects — and some other organic objects. Phong is superior to Metal if your surface is to be synthetic, or like plastic, or perhaps a polished wood. You could say that Phong might probably be used more often because it doesnt have the distinct effect of Metal shading. But that doesnt necessarily make it superior. Has anyone won the bet yet? <g> – Jack