Digitization of Bezier curves and patches using discrete geometry

Existing algorithms for rendering Bezier curves and surfaces fall into two categories: iterative evaluation of the parametric equations (generally using forward differencing techniques) or recursive subdivision. In the latter case, all the algorithms rely on an arbitrary precision constant (tolerance) whose appropriate choice is not clear and not linked to the geometry of the image grid. We show that discrete geometry can be used to improve the subdivision algorithm so as to avoid the need for any arbitrary value. The proposed approach extends well and we present its application in the case of 2D and 3D Bezier curves as well as Bezier triangle patches and tensor-product surface patches