An Artistic Approach for Intuitive Control of Light Transfer in Participating Media

Abstract

The sole purpose of every form of visual representation is to make something look believable. Even among abstract or conceptual representation, the purpose is to create something that within the defined visual language the audience will consider believable and accepted.

In the field of computer generated representation there are numerous visual languages that have been developed throughout the years, attempting to solve different visualization or artistic problems. This thesis presents an alternative light transfer model for participating media focused on the intuitive control of the illumination data and the artistic value of the resulting image. The purpose is not focused on accurately modeling lights physical behavior and its interaction with the surfaces and elements.

My thesis describes an artistic approach which aims to offer an organic and intuitive control of the glow and temperature of the effects of participating media and direct the value and hues through the surfaces. The system described in the thesis approximates light transfer through a given volume by calculating light contribution in the volume with discreet sampling and subsequently gathering these values to determine the diffuse scattering contribution for the volume.

I will also discuss the assumptions made to allow such approximations, as well as how the intuitive control offered by the approach and these approximations allow new forms or representation and artistic direction.