I think one powerful feature of isosurfaces are the ability to add actual
bumps etc. to an object instead of faking it with normals.

However, you need to know the function of the object. While this can be easy
with very simple objects, it can be very complicated with more complicated
objects.

I think it would be really handy if POV-Ray could automatically convert
regular objects into isosurface functions. Like this:

function {
   cone { x, 0.3, <1,2,0>, 0.2 translate z }
}

If it worked with CSG objects too, it would be *really* handy!

Another and completely different idea would be to add an "iso_normal"
feature to regular objects. Like this:

cone {
   x, 0.3, <1,2,0>, 0.2
   iso_normal { bumps 0.2 scale 0.3 turbulence 0.2 }
   translate z
}

Using an iso_normal would then convert the object to an iso_surface with a
function according to the mother object, and then it would also add the
iso_normal function to the object function.

These ideas are in no way complete, and I don't know if they are realistic
at all, but I still post them in the hope that they might be, or that they
maybe can inspire someone to make something else, that I hadn't thought of
myself. It doesn't hurt anyway...

Greetings,

Rune
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