Complex Material in Realtime Graphics

Programmable rendering pipelines in modern graphics processing units have created a significant demand for realistically-looking three-dimensional scenes in real-time using more sophisticated illumination models that were even thinkable of a few years ago. However, it will be demonstrated that realistic illumination of complex materials is still too memory-intensive for naïve solutions, so more sophisticated methods have to be developed. Three of those methods, the Spatial Bi-Directional Reflectance Distribution Function, the separable compositions technique, and the convoluted environment map, will be demonstrated, presenting simple but effective ways to apply existing knowledge to enhance the visual experience while still being able to render at interactive rates.