<#84#><#2082#>Rayshade<#2082#><#84#>
can take anywhere from seconds to weeks to render an image. The exact
time required is a function of the speed of the
machine(s) on which
you're working, the complexity of the scene, and how ``good'' you want
the final image to be.
Creating a finished ray-traced image is an iterative process. Usually, many test renderings are made at low resolution and with non-essential features turned off. After each test image is created, surface definitions might be modified, the eye or look positions may be slightly changed, or the intensity of a light source changed.
This chapter describes the basic operation of <#85#><#2084#>rayshade<#2084#><#85#> and some of the options that control that operation. Setting these options properly can greatly reduce rendering time, improve the quality of your images, and make you a better person.
<#86#><#2086#>Rayshade<#2086#><#86#> usually works as a filter, reading a description from the standard input and writing an image file to the standard output. As it is working, <#87#><#2088#>rayshade<#2088#><#87#> reports on the progress of the rendering by writing messages to the standard error.