depth impression and scene comprehension is greatly improved. Reflections on the VSS accentuate cavities, hills, and neighboring occlusion which support the perception of relative and global depth differences. Either calculated with global illumination algorithms or simplified shading models, the perceived surface is immediately more vivid as demonstrated in Figure \[fig:illumination\]. Without any highlights, the VSS appears rather as a flat wallpaper-like background image which requires cognitive interpretation efforts to decipher depth.

**Power parameter variation.** When constructing VSS, greater values of $p$ result in a greater influence of samples close to the interpolated point, see Figure \[fig:power\_parameter\]. For areas further away from the contour and without a distinct closest structure, the result is often a mostly averaged interpolated depth across the whole boundary. This is especially the case if a lot of contour points contribute to a pixel or the depth values along the contour are from a wide range. Local features can be preserved further into open areas with an increasing power parameter $p$ for the interpolation which sharpens the boundaries between different levels of depth. Thus, in the most extreme case, the VSS develops patterns similar to a Voronoi diagram.

If the vascular model does not cover a lot 