“A Calculation of Multiple Scattering Using Scattering Maps and an Efficient Method for Rendering Sky”

Abstract

The sky color is indispensable for the display of natural scenes in computer graphics. To render the photorealistic images of the sky, the calculation taking into account multiple scattering is necessary. However the calculation is so complex that enormous computational cost is required. Therefore, in this paper, we proposed a method using virtual shells (sampling shells) generated in the atmosphere. In the method, the illumination distribution of the scattering of light on the virtual shells is considered as a texture map called scattering maps. This makes it possible to calculate the sky color effeciently by using graphics hardware. Furthermore, we also propose a calculation and rendering method using the singular value decomposition to display the sky quickly with a little memory when the height of the viewpoint and the sun altitude change. © 2004, The Institute of Image Electronics Engineers of Japan. All rights reserved.