Abstract: An effective real-time soft shadow algorithm is presented. First, the shadow map from the light view is generated. Then the scene is rendered into a screen buffer texture rather than the real screen. Next, the percentage closer filtering (PCF) is used to remove the aliasing on the edge of shadow. Finally, the Gaussian filter is used to blur the screen. The results indicate that the algorithm not only produces a good soft shadow, but also has real-time effect for dynamic scenes.

Key words: computer application, shadow mapping, shadow map, soft shadow, antialiasing