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Unit II - Lights

Unit II covers the function of lights in rendering, including illumination, shading models, and shadow casting techniques. It discusses various types of lights such as directional, point, spot, and area lights, as well as the principles of Physically Based Rendering (PBR) and light reflection types. Additionally, it highlights advanced lighting concepts like emissive, ambient, skylight, global illumination, and image-based lighting.

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19 views10 pages

Unit II - Lights

Unit II covers the function of lights in rendering, including illumination, shading models, and shadow casting techniques. It discusses various types of lights such as directional, point, spot, and area lights, as well as the principles of Physically Based Rendering (PBR) and light reflection types. Additionally, it highlights advanced lighting concepts like emissive, ambient, skylight, global illumination, and image-based lighting.

Uploaded by

vgg67916
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Unit II - Lights

Unit II - Lights : Function of Lights


1. Illuminate
Light is essential to define how entities in a scene are lit, as well as to simulate realistic/stylized VFX.

Shading models
Flat shading
Each polygon is given a single color based on the light at one point.
Gouraud shading
Smooth shading across polygons by interpolating vertex colors.
Phong/Blinn-Phong Shading
More realistic shading with per-pixel calculations, interpolating normals instead of colors.
Blinn-Phong uses the halfway vector instead of the reflection one to calculate the specular
angle.
Physically Based Rendering (PBR)
Simulates real-world material properties using advanced lighting models and BRDFs
(Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Functions).
Unit II - Lights : Function of Lights
2. Cast Shadows
Shadowing is essential to provide depth perception and spatial understanding within a scene,
enhancing realism/composition.

Shadowing techniques
Shadow Mapping
Uses a depth texture to compare distances from the light source to objects.
Several types: PCF, PCSS, Cascades, Atlases…
RayTraced Shadows
More accurate, simulates real-world light behavior, but computationally expensive.
Allows for effects like soft shadows and realistic penumbras.
Shadow Volumes
Geometry-based approach, calculates shadow regions using the shape of occluders.
Unit II - Lights : Materials & Light
PBR (Physically Based Rendering) → Rendering approach that mimics the
physical properties of light and materials. It’s core principles are:
- Energy Conservation → Reflected light energy never exceeds the incoming light
energy.
- Microfacet Theory: Surfaces are composed of tiny faces that affect the reflection.
(Consider a facet a microsurface or a micro plane within the plane). This models
the roughness of the surface.
- Key parameters
- Base Color → Diffuse/Albedo
- Metallic → Defines if a surface is reflective or dielectric
- Roughness → Control how sharp or blurry reflections.

Shading Model → Physical/Mathematical model which defines how light interacts with
the surface of an object. Models differentiate in:
- Diffuse Shading
- Specular Shading
- Hybrid Models

BRDF (Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function) → Mathematical


model that describes how light is reflected at a surface. It’s components are:
- Incoming Light Direction → ωi
- Outgoing View Direction → ωo/ωr
- Reflectance Function → fr(ωi,ωo)
Examples:
- Lambertian BRDF
- Cook-Torrance BRDF
- GGX BRDF
Unit II - Lights : Light Types
Directional Light
Simulates light coming from a distant source, such as the sun, with parallel rays and
uniform intensity.

Main Characteristics:
- Intensity Doesn’t diminish with distance.
- Commonly used for outdoor scenes and global lighting.
Unit II - Lights : Light Types
Point Light
Emits light in all directions from a single point. It’s defined by several radius. Light emitted
usually fades.

Main Characteristics:
- Light intensity diminishes with distance, usually following an inverse square law.
- Not only limited to being represented by a sphere. Can be represented by
capsules as well.

Game Engine Programming: Point Light Sources


Unit II - Lights : Light Types
Spot Light
Emit a cone shaped beam of light from a specific point.

Main Characteristics:
- Defined by inner and outer cone angles, this allow controlling the sharpness of
the light.
- Light fades within the cone and beyond its boundaries.
Unit II - Lights : Light Types
Rectangular/Area Light
Emits light from a rectangular surface, producing soft illumination.

Main Characteristics:
- Supports area light effects, creating subtle gradients and soft shadows.
- Advanced type of light within PBR pipelines.
Unit II - Lights : Light Reflection
Specular
Light reflects in a specific direction, similar to a mirror.
- Bright Highlights (Specular highlights)
- View angle dependent, relative to the light source.
- Influenced by surface smoothness, the smoother, the sharper the reflection.

Diffuse
Light scatters uniformly in all directions after hitting a surface.
- Matte appearance with no sharp highlights.
- Dependent on the angle between the light and surface normal.

Most realistic rendering combine both types of reflection.


Unit II - Lights : Other kinds of Lighting

Group up and investigate about the following topics, create a few slides and upload it to the pdu:

Emissive Lighting
Ambient Lighting
Skylight
Global Illumination
Image Based Lighting (IBL)

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