sdf stands for "signed distance function". It helps the magic of ShaderToy [0] to obtain real time rendering in the browser. Note how the animations on the Sha

sdf stands for "signed distance function". It helps the magic of ShaderToy [0] to obtain real time rendering in the browser. Note how the animations on the ShaderToy website aren't videos but real-time renderings. See e.g. how straightforward the coneSdf is implemented [1]. [0] https://www.shadertoy.com/ https://www.shadertoy.com/ [1] https://www.shadertoy.com/view/4l3BW7 https://www.shadertoy.com/view/4l3BW7 float coneSDF( vec3 p, vec2 c ) { float q = length(p.xz); return dot(c,vec2(q,p.y)); }