Computer Graphics Milestones: The Techniques Behind CGI

Every digital dinosaur and ray-traced puddle rests on a chain of ideas that started on a 1960s lab computer. This list follows that chain in order, from the first interactive drawing program to radiance fields, and each entry explains what the technique or production actually solved and why later work depended on it. The test for a place is a technical leap that others built on. Famous films earn their spot through the method they introduced, not their box office, and research papers sit beside them because that is where most of the breakthroughs first appeared. Video game consoles and current software recommendations are left out; the one piece of hardware here earns its place by changing how images are made. Read it top to bottom for the story, or jump to any era: each entry stands on its own.