“Smooth transitions between bump rendering algorithms” by Becker and Max

A method is described for switching smoothly between
rendering algorithms as required by the amount of visible surface detail. The result will be more realism with
less computation for displaying objects whose surface
detail can be described by one or more bump maps. The
three rendering algorithms considered are a BRDF,
bump mapping, and displacement mapping. The bump
mapping has been modified to make it consistent with
the other two. For a given viewpoint, one of these
algorithms will show a better trade-off between quality, computation time, and aliasing than the other two.
The decision as to which algorithm is appropriate is a
function of distance, viewing angle, and the frequency
of bumps in the bump map.

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