The present invention is related to rendering computer animated video and/or
images generally, and to efficiently intersecting rays with an object scene while
shading complex object representations. The present invention, generally, includes
creating a plurality of representations for the object. After creating the plurality
of representations, a plurality of primary positions are established on one of
the representations. Shading positions on one or more other representations included
in the plurality of representations are then established by reference to the primary
positions. These shading positions correspond to the plurality of primary positions
and each of these representations has a coarser resolution than the representation
with the primary positions. Shading values for the shading positions are the computed
and applied to the plurality of primary positions.