US 8,797,320 B2Granted

Surface shading of computer-generated object using multiple surfaces

AssigneeDisney Enterprises, Inc.

InventorsJohn T. Murrah, Donald Adolph Lusinsky, Henry Allen Driskill, Sean D. Jenkins, Ernest Petti, Lewis N. Siegel, Adrienne Othon

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Abstract

Objects are modeled and rendered using multiple surfaces to provide attributes used in rendering. In some embodiments, a reference surface for an object is defined, e.g., using conventional modeling techniques. One or more auxiliary surfaces are associated with portions of the reference surface. Some of the surface attributes (e.g., color, surface normal, texture, lighting) are associated with the reference surface, while other attributes (e.g., transparency) are associated with the cards. To render an image, a ray associated with a pixel is traced to its intersection with the reference surface and to its intersection with one of the auxiliary surfaces. The attributes associated with the reference surface are determined based on the intersection point of the ray with the reference surface, and the attributes associated with the auxiliary surface are determined based on the intersection point of the ray with the auxiliary surface.

Claims27

Dependent claims

A method for generating an image, the method comprising:

defining a reference surface for an object, the reference surface having at least a first attribute associated therewith, the first attribute having a value that is variable as a function of position on the reference surface;
defining an auxiliary surface for the object, the auxiliary surface being positioned in relation to a specified portion of the reference surface, the auxiliary surface having at least a transparency attribute associated therewith, the transparency attribute having a value that is variable as a function of position on the auxiliary surface, wherein the first attribute and the transparency attribute are different attributes, and wherein the auxiliary surface has a different geometry from the reference surface;
tracing a ray for a pixel of an image raster, the ray intersecting a point on the reference surface and a point on the auxiliary surface;
determining a value of the first attribute based at least in part on the intersection point of the ray with the reference surface and independently of the intersection point of the ray with the auxiliary surface;
determining a value of the transparency attribute based at least in part on the intersection point of the ray with the auxiliary surface and independently of the intersection point of the ray with the reference surface;
and
using the values of the first attribute and the transparency attribute to determine a pixel color for the pixel.

4 more elements

A method for generating an image, the method comprising:

defining a reference surface for an object, the reference surface establishing a boundary between an interior region and an exterior region, the reference surface further having at least a first attribute associated therewith,
wherein the reference surface includes at least a first planar portion and a second planar portion not coplanar with the first planar portion, the first planar portion and the second planar portion meeting at an edge line;
defining a first planar auxiliary surface for the object, the first planar auxiliary surface extending from the edge line into the exterior region, the first planar auxiliary surface having a transparency attribute associated therewith, wherein the first attribute is an attribute other than transparency, and wherein the first planar auxiliary surface has a different geometry from the reference surface;
tracing a primary ray for a pixel of an image raster to an intersection point with the first planar auxiliary surface;
determining a value for the transparency attribute based at least in part on the intersection point of the primary ray with the first planar auxiliary surface and independently of the reference surface;
tracing a deflected ray from the intersection point of the primary ray with the first planar auxiliary surface, wherein the deflected ray is deflected toward the reference surface relative to the primary ray;
identifying an intersection point of the deflected ray with the reference surface;
determining a value of the first attribute based at least in part on the intersection point of the deflected ray with the reference surface and independently of the first planar auxiliary surface;
and
using the values of the first attribute and the transparency attribute to determine a pixel color for the pixel.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.