The approach described here to generate line integral convolution images is very simplistic. More sophisticated algorithms will decouple the surface tessellation from the flow field grid, and more finely subdivide the tessellation surface where there rapidly changing flows to properly sample them. This subdivision algorithm should be backed with a rigorous sampling approach so that the results can can be trusted within given accuracy bounds. A subdivision algorithm must also recognize and handle various types of flow discontinuities.
This technique can easily be extended into three dimensions, using 3D textures. Volume visualization techniques, described in Section 16.2 in these notes, can be used to visualize the 3D LIC image.