= Modelling and Rendering Ice = == Overview == We want to model a scene containing objects made out of ice. Specifically, we hope to produce images similar to the ones below, where caustic effects and translucency is apparent. http://www.stanford.edu/~myilang/cs348b/final/ice-cubes-1.jpg http://www.stanford.edu/~myilang/cs348b/final/ice-cubes-2.jpg == Previous Work == A previous CS 348B final project, [http://graphics.stanford.edu/courses/cs348b-competition/cs348b-03/ice/ Rene Patnode & Evan Parker], attempted to produce realistic looking ice and had some success. They modelled the ice by defining a new material that had similar properties to ice. To simulate a rough surface, they made use of bump maps. However, their work fails to take into account the non-homogenous density of ice and the bump map fails to capture the important refraction happening near the surface (inside grooves for example). == Our Proposal == Our project will more accurately render objects made of ice. === Caustics === This is mainly the result of light refracting and reflecting at the surface of ice. We will be using a mesh for our models, and we will roughen the surface by adding noise consistent with that of ice. Choosing a good noise model will be crucial in making the models look like they are made out of ice. One possible simulation is shown at [http://www.imagecommunications.de/tutorials/surfacethickness.html Ice Cubes with Surface Thickness]. We are looking into methods that will produce the caustics with a low time cost. === Non-homogenous Transparency === Ice has a lot of air bubbles inside which means that it has a non-constant density. This means that light rays travelling through the solid has a chance to be reflected or refracted. Even ice with a smooth surface often produce distorted images because of this effect. Bernard & Ural have done some work in this respect by using Perlin noise to define the density of the object ini [http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1110000/1101414/p131-barnard.pdf?key1=1101414&key2=9620808411&coll=GUIDE&dl=acm&CFID=76289715&CFTOKEN=76657132 Rendering Translucency with Perlin Noise]. We will be making use of their research to implement the translucency of our ice.