Editing Utah teapot (section)

{{short description|Computer graphics 3D reference and test model}}
{{use American English|date=January 2020}}
{{use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
[[File:Utah teapot (solid).stl|thumb|right|A 3D [[STL (file format)|STL]] model of the teapot]]
[[File:Utah teapot simple 2.png|thumb|right|A 2008 rendering of the Utah teapot model]]
The '''Utah teapot''', or the '''Newell teapot''', is one of the [[List of common 3D test models|standard reference test models]] in [[3D modeling]] and an [[in-joke]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://nautil.us/the-most-important-object-in-computer-graphics-history-is-this-teapot-235818/|title=The Most Important Object In Computer Graphics History Is This Teapot|magazine=[[Nautilus (science magazine)|Nautilus]]|last=Dunietz|first=Jesse|date=February 29, 2016|access-date=March 3, 2019}}</ref> within the [[computer graphics]] community. It is a [[mathematical model]] of an ordinary [[Melitta]]-brand [[teapot]] designed by {{ill|Lieselotte Kantner|de}} that appears solid with a nearly rotationally symmetrical body. Using a teapot model is considered the 3D equivalent of a [["Hello, World!" program]], a way to create an easy 3D scene with a somewhat complex model acting as the basic geometry for a scene with a light setup. Some [[Library (computing)|programming libraries]], such as the [[OpenGL Utility Toolkit]],<ref>{{cite web |website=www.opengl.org |author=Mark Kilgard |date=Feb 23, 1996 | url=http://www.opengl.org/resources/libraries/glut/spec3/node89.html | title=11.9 glutSolidTeapot, glutWireTeapot | access-date=October 7, 2011}}</ref> even have [[Subroutine|functions]] dedicated to drawing teapots.

The teapot model was created in 1975 by early computer graphics researcher [[Martin Newell (computer scientist)|Martin Newell]], a member of the pioneering graphics program at the [[University of Utah]].<ref>{{Cite book
 | last = Torrence | first = Ann
 | title = ACM SIGGRAPH 2006 Teapot on - SIGGRAPH '06
 | chapter = Martin Newell's original teapot: Copyright restrictions prevent ACM from providing the full text for this work
 | doi = 10.1145/1180098.1180128
 | id = Article No. 29
 | isbn = 978-1-59593-364-5
 | pages = 29
 | year = 2006
 | s2cid = 23272447
 }}</ref> It was one of the first to be [[3D modelling|modeled]] using [[Bézier curve]]s rather than precisely measured.