A precomputed polynomial representation for interactive BRDF editing with global illumination

  • Authors:
  • Aner Ben-Artzi;Kevin Egan;Frédo Durand;Ravi Ramamoorthi

  • Affiliations:
  • Columbia University, New York, NY;Columbia University, New York, NY;MIT CSAIL, Cambridge, MA;Columbia University, New York, NY

  • Venue:
  • ACM Transactions on Graphics (TOG)
  • Year:
  • 2008

Quantified Score

Hi-index 0.00

Visualization

Abstract

The ability to interactively edit BRDFs in their final placement within a computer graphics scene is vital to making informed choices for material properties. We significantly extend previous work on BRDF editing for static scenes (with fixed lighting and view) by developing a precomputed polynomial representation that enables interactive BRDF editing with global illumination. Unlike previous precomputation-based rendering techniques, the image is not linear in the BRDF when considering interreflections. We introduce a framework for precomputing a multibounce tensor of polynomial coefficients that encapsulates the nonlinear nature of the task. Significant reductions in complexity are achieved by leveraging the low-frequency nature of indirect light. We use a high-quality representation for the BRDFs at the first bounce from the eye and lower-frequency (often diffuse) versions for further bounces. This approximation correctly captures the general global illumination in a scene, including color-bleeding, near-field object reflections, and even caustics. We adapt Monte Carlo path tracing for precomputing the tensor of coefficients for BRDF basis functions. At runtime, the high-dimensional tensors can be reduced to a simple dot product at each pixel for rendering. We present a number of examples of editing BRDFs in complex scenes with interactive feedback rendered with global illumination.