Method and system for presenting objects having see-through surfaces in a computer graphics system

A method for generating a full featured gemstone having at least one see-through surface in a computer graphics scene, the gemstone having one or more exterior surfaces which are visible without being viewed through the see-through surface, and one or more interior surfaces which are only visible through the see-through surface, the method comprising:

• providing a first mesh system having a plurality of vertices defining an exterior layer of each surface;
• providing a second mesh system defining an interior layer of each surface located virtually next to the exterior layer, the vertices of the second mesh system correlating to the same vertices of the first mesh system;
• and
• adjusting one or more material attributes of both the first and second mesh systems to present the exterior surfaces and interior surfaces so that a realistic presentation of the object is shown,
• wherein one or more material attributes are associated with each vertex in each mesh system.

A system for generating a full featured object having at least one see-through surface in a computer graphics scene, the object having one or more exterior surfaces which are visible without being viewed through the see-through surface, and one or more interior surfaces which are only visible through the see-through surface, the system comprising:

• a first mesh system having a plurality of vertices defining a first layer of each surface;
• and
• a second mesh system defining a second layer of each surface located virtually next to the first layer, the second mesh system containing the same vertices of the first mesh system,
• wherein one or more material attributes are associated with each vertex in both the first and second mesh systems, and
• wherein the material attributes of both the first and second mesh systems are adjusted to present the exterior surfaces and interior surfaces so that a realistic presentation of the object is shown.

A method for generating a full featured gemstone having at least one see-through surface in a computer graphics scene, the gemstone having one or more exterior surfaces which are visible without being viewed through the see-through surface, and one or more interior surfaces which are only visible through the see-through surface, the method comprising:

• providing a two-layer mesh system having a plurality of vertices for each surface, a first layer defining an exterior layer and a second virtual layer defining an interior layer of the surface;
• adjusting a color factor and a spectral factor of both the first and second layers depending on an expected transparency level of the surface;
• repeating the step of adjusting until all surfaces of the gemstone are processed to render the full-featured appearance of the gemstone,
• wherein color and spectral factors are associated with each vertex in each layer.