Production Rendering: Design and Implementation

In the past, rendering systems used a range of different approaches, each compatible and able to handle certain kinds of images. However, the last few years have seen the development of practical techniques, which bring together many areas of research into stable, production ready rendering tools. Production Rendering: Design and Implementation is written by experienced graphics software developers and discusses the techniques they have used to implement feature film quality rendering engines.

Key Topics:

- A rendering framework for managing a micro polygon-oriented graphics pipeline

- Problems presented by different types of geometry showing how different surface types can be made ready for shading

- Shading and how it fits into a rendering pipeline

- How to write a good shader compiler

- Ray tracing in a production renderer

- Incorporating global illumination into a renderer

- Gathering surface samples into a final image

- Tips and tricks in rendering

In the past, rendering systems used a range of different approaches, each compatible and able to handle certain kinds of images. However, the last few years have seen the development of practical techniques, which bring together many areas of research into stable, production ready rendering tools. Written by experienced graphics software developers, Production Rendering: Design and Implementation provides not only a complete framework of different topics including shading engines and compilers, but discusses also the techniques used to implement feature film quality rendering engines.

Key Topics

·A Rendering framework for managing a micro polygon-oriented graphics pipeline

·Problems presented by different types of geometry showing how different surface types can be made ready for shading

·Shading and how it fits into a rendering pipeline

·How to write a good shader compiler

·Ray tracing in a production renderer

·Incorporating global illumination into a renderer

·Gathering surface samples into a final image

·Tips and tricks in rendering

About the authors

Mark Elendt , Senior Mathematician, has been with Side Effects Software Inc, Canada for 11 years and has written at least 5 renderers over these years. He was chief architect for the Houdini renderers Mantra and VMantra. In 1997 he received a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Rick LaMont, co-founder and CTO of Dot C Software, USA, currently acts as lead programmer of RenderDotC and Mai-Tai. He received the Computerworld Smithsonian Award for Technology Benefiting Mankind for his work on the Weyerhaeuser Design Center (Foley and van Dam, Second Edition, color plate I.8).

Jacopo Pantaleoni, is currently a Developer for LightFlow Technologies, Italy, which he founded in 1999. His interests in mathematics, computer programming and, realistic rendering lead to the publication of Lightflow Rendering Tools. In 2000, he also began working with a team of beta testers, on a connection between his rendering software and MayaTM.

Scott Iverson, is the chief developer of the AIR renderer, and founder of Sitex Graphics Inc, USA.

Paul Gregory, works for the Aqsis Team, UK. He is the originator, and lead developer of the open source renderer "Aqsis".

Matthew Bentham, is currently at ART VPS Ltd, UK. He is also the software developer responsible for compiler technology at ART VPS, creators of the RenderDrive rendering appliance.

Ian Stephenson, is a Senior Lecturer at the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA), Bournemouth University, UK. Developer of the Angel rendering system, he is also the author of Essential RenderMan Fast.