Real-Time Rendering——Chapter 10 Image-Based Effects

modeling surfaces with polygons is often the most straightforward way to approach the problem of portraying objects in a scene. polygons are good only up to a point, however. image-based rendering (IBR) has become a paradigm of its own. as its name proclaims, images are the primary data used for this type of rendering. a great advantage of reprsenting an object with an image is that the rendering cost is proportional to the number of pixels rendered, and not to, say, the number of vertices in a geometrical model.

so one use of image-based rendering is as more efficient way to render models. however, IBR techniques have a much wider use than this. many objects, such as clouds and fur, are difficult to represent with polygons. layered semetransparent image can be used to display such complex surfaces.

this chapter, image-based rendering is first compared and constrasted with traditional polygon rendering, and an overview of algorithms presented. commonly used techniques such as sprites, billboards, particles, and impostors are described, along with more experimental methods. optimizations are described for when the camera and scene are mostly static.

at the same time, there is more involved in making an image than simply portraying objects. we may wish to post-proess synthesized 合成的 data in a wide variety of ways. image processing techniques are explained for performing tone mapping, high dynamic range effects, motion blur, depth of field, and other phenomena. the chapter ends with two related topics, atmospheric effects and using three-dimensional volumetric data for modeling objects.

10.1 the rendering spectrum

the goal of rendering is to portray an object on the screen; how we attain that goal is our choice. there is no single correct way to render a scene. each rendering method is an approximation of reality, at least if photorealism 写实主义 is the goal.

polygons have the advantage of representing the object in a reasonable fashion from any view. as the camera moves, the representation of the object does not have to change. however, to improve quality, we may wish to substitute a more highly detailed model as the viewer gets closer to the object. conversely, we may wish to use a simplified form of the model if it is off in the distance. these are called level of detail techniques (see section 14.7). their main purpose is to make the scene display faster.

other rendering and modeling techniques can come into play as an object recedes from the viewer. speed can be gained by using images instead of polygons to represent the object. it is often less expensive to represent an object with a single image that can be sent quickly to the screen. one way to represent the continumm of rendering techniques comes from Lengyel and is shown in firgure 10.1. we will first work our way from the left of the spectrum back down to the more faimilar territory on the right.

10.2 fixed-view effects

For complex geometry and shading models, it can be expensive to rerender an entire scene at interactive rates. Various forms of acceleration can be performed by limiting the viewer’s ability to move. The most restrictive situation is one where the camera is fixed in position and orientation, i.e., does not move at all. Under such circumstances, much rendering can be done just once. For example, imagine a pasture with a fence as the static scene, with a horse moving through it. The pasture 牧场 and fence are rendered once and
the color and Z-buffers stored away. each frame, these buffers are copied over to the displayable color and Z-buffer. the horse itself is then all that needs to be rendered to obtain the final image.
if the horse is behind the fence, the z-depth values stored and copied will obscure the horse. note that under this scenario, the horse can not cast a shadow, since the scene is unchanging.