Image-based BRDF Representation

To acquire a certain level of photorealism in computer graphics, it is necessary to analyze, how the materials scatter the incident light. In this work, we propose the method to direct rendering of isotropic bidirectional reflectance function (BRDF) from the small set of images. The image-based rendering is focused to synthesize as accurately as possible scenes composed of natural and artificial objects. The realistic image synthesis of BRDF data requires evaluation of radiance over the multiple directions of incident and scattered light from the surface. In our approach the images depict only the material reflectance, the shape is represented as the object geometry. We store the BRDF representation, acquired from the sample material, in a number of two-dimensional textures that contain images of spheres lit from the multiple directions. In order to render particular material, we interpolate between textures in the similar way the image morphing works. Our method allows the real-time rendering of tabulated BRDF data on low memory devices such as mobile phones.