Rendering with Radiance
The Art and Science of Lighting Visualization

By Greg Ward Larson and Rob A. Shakespeare,
with contributions from Peter Apian-Bennewitz,
Charles Ehrlich, John Mardaljevic, and Erich Phillips

Copyright © 1998 by Morgan Kaufmann Publishers

Currently available through Amazon.com
(ISBN 0-9745381-0-8 replaces the now out-of-print first edition ISBN 1-55860-499-5)


This page contains a detailed table of contents with supplemental material for Rendering with Radiance by G. W. Larson and R. A. Shakespeare.

Clicking on any of the chapter headings below will jump to a more detailed outline for that chapter. Links to files ending in ".pdf" bring up Adobe Acrobat versions of that chapter. Links next to subheadings bring up supplemental material referred to in that section of the book. Links on headings point to HTML versions of the original material.

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Contents (short)

How to Use this Book (preface.pdf)

(ERRATA)

PART I - TUTORIALS

  • CHAPTER 1 - Introduction
  • CHAPTER 2 - Scene One Tutorial
  • CHAPTER 3 - Scene Two Tutorial
  • CHAPTER 4 - Radiance Scripting Techniques
  • PART II - APPLICATIONS

  • CHAPTER 5 - Lighting Analysis by Charles Ehrlich
  • CHAPTER 6 - Daylight Simulation by John Mardaljevic
  • CHAPTER 7 - Roadway Lighting by Erich Phillips
  • CHAPTER 8 - Dramatic Lighting by Rob Shakespeare
  • CHAPTER 9 - Animation by Peter Apian-Bennewitz
  • PART III - CALCULATION METHODS

  • CHAPTER 10 - Deterministic and Stochastic Ray Tracing
  • CHAPTER 11 - Direct Calculation
  • CHAPTER 12 - Indirect Calculation
  • CHAPTER 13 - Secondary Light Sources
  • CHAPTER 14 - Single-Scatter Participating Media (Mist)
  • CHAPTER 15 - Parallel Rendering Computations
  • PART IV - REFERENCE MATERIALS (electronic only)

  • CHAPTER 16 - Radiance Reference Manual
  • CHAPTER 17 - Radiance Man Pages
  • CHAPTER 18 - Radiance File Formats
  • CHAPTER 19 - Behavior of Materials in Radiance
  • CHAPTER 20 - Radiance Source Tree
  • Bibliography

    Glossary


    Contents (long)

    PART I - TUTORIALS

    CHAPTER 1 - Introduction (ch1.pdf)

    1. Photorealism and Lighting Visualization
      1. Requirements for Lighting Visualization
      2. Examples of Lighting Visualization (color plates)
    2. Radiance Tools and Concepts (other links)
      1. Scene Geometry
      2. Surface Materials
      3. Lighting Simulation and Rendering
      4. Image Manipulation and Analysis
      5. Integration
    3. Scene 0 Tutorial (scene0.tar.Z)
      1. Input of a Simple Room
      2. Filtering and Displaying a Picture
      3. Addition of a Window
      4. Automating the Rendering Process
      5. Outside Geometry
    4. Conclusion

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    CHAPTER 2 - Scene 1 Tutorial

    1. Essential Programs
    2. Description of Scene One
    3. Creating the Scene One Project Directory (scene1.tar.Z)
    4. Constructing Basic Objects
      1. Creating material1.rad
      2. Creating stool_1.rad
      3. Creating table_1.rad
      4. Creating vase1.rad
      5. Creating lamp_shade1.rad
      6. Creating tile_4.rad
      7. Creating wall_ceiling.rad
      8. Creating mirror_1.rad
      9. Creating leaf_1.rad
      10. Creating leaves_1.rad
      11. Creating flower_1.rad
      12. Creating baseboard_1.rad
    5. Assembling scene1.all
    6. Rendering Scene 1 (Fig. 2.19)
    7. Creating Basic Lighting
      1. Creating downlight_a1.rad and light1.rad
      2. Creating downlight_b1.rad
      3. Creating fixture1.rad
    8. Reevaluating Scene 1
    9. Rendering and Filtering the Final Scene 1 Picture (Fig. 2.21)
    10. Summary of the Scene 1 Exercise

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    CHAPTER 3 - Scene 2 Tutorial

    1. Physically Based Lighting
      1. Photometry Files
      2. Creating Photometry Files from Printed Photometric Data
      3. Generating the Sky and Sun
    2. Indirect Light
      1. Using rad (man page)
      2. Viewing Through Walls
    3. Adding Textures and Patterns to Materials
      1. Mapping a Picture onto a Polygon
    4. Complex Surfaces
      1. Gensurf (man page)
      2. Genworm and Genrev (man pages)
      3. Hermite Curves
      4. Anatomy of a Procedural Function
    5. Building the Art Gallery
      1. Creating the Art Gallery illum Daylight Sources
      2. Creating and Aiming Tracklights in the Gallery
      3. Adding Recessed Linear Lighting to the Art Gallery
      4. Lobby Lighting
      5. Creating the Furniture
      6. Commercial Furniture Inventory
      7. Creating the Art
    6. Assembling Scene 2
    7. Lighting the Art
      1. Confirming the Lighting for Individual Art Pieces
      2. An Alternative Method for Organizing the Tracklighting
    8. Light Color and Adaptation
      1. Rendering the Scene in Daylight
      2. Rendering the Scene at Night
      3. Reviewing the Daylighted Pictures
      4. Illumination Analysis
    9. Scene 2 Summary

      Color Images
      Input files for Scene 2: scene2.tar.Z
      Derived and output files for Scene 2: scene2aux.tar.Z

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    CHAPTER 4 - Radiance Scripting Techniques

    1. The Radiance Functional Language (filefmts.pdf)
      1. 2D Plotting Utilities (man pages)
      2. Calc and Rcalc (man pages)
      3. Function-Based Generator Programs (man pages)
      4. Patterns and Textures (reference manual)
      5. Image Processing (man pages)
    2. Utility Programs (man pages)
      1. Cnt, Lam, and Total
      2. Histo and Tabfunc
      3. Rcalc (man page)
    3. C-Shell Programming
      1. Scene Animation (ranimate man page)
      2. Data Generation and Plotting (man pages)
    4. Advanced Examples
      1. Plane Placement Problem
      2. Electrochromic Glazing Animation (color figure)
    5. Conclusion

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    PART II - APPLICATIONS

    CHAPTER 5 - Lighting Analysis by Charles Ehrlich

    1. Data Collection
      1. Tools of the Trade (Siggraph '96 course notes)
      2. Use Methods Appropriate to the Task
      3. Estimating Average Surface Reflectance and Transmittance
      4. Estimating Surface Color
      5. Determining Your Monitor's Gamma (relevant links)
      6. Using a Luminance Meter to Measure Color
      7. What to Do When You Don't Have Material Samples
      8. Using Calibrated Input Devices (Macbethcal) (man page)
      9. Using a Spectrophotometer
      10. Estimating Surface Specularity
      11. Estimating Surface Roughness
      12. Measuring Surface Transmittance
      13. Measuring Luminous Flux
      14. Measuring Lamp Color Temperature
      15. Lamp Color Temperatures and Pfilt Options (man page)
    2. Luminaire Modeling
      1. Example Office Scene
      2. Using Geometry from CAD Programs (contributed translators)
      3. Collecting Luminaire Data
      4. Modeling Sources of Different Color Temperature
      5. Manual Entry of Candlepower Distribution Data
      6. Modeling Transmitting Media
    3. Analysis Techniques
      1. Visualizing Light Distribution-Using Falsecolor (man page)
      2. Mimicking the Human Eye (pcond man page, TVCG '97 paper)
    4. Conclusion

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    CHAPTER 6 - Daylight Simulation by John Mardaljevic

    1. Daylight: Monitoring, Sky Models, and Daylight Indoors
      1. Measuring Daylight
      2. Sky Models
      3. Daylight Indoors-the Components of Illuminance
    2. Evaluation Techniques and Accuracy
      1. The Daylight Factor Approach
      2. Pictures, Numbers, and Accuracy
      3. Color Specification
    3. Case Study I: Creating the Luminous Environment
      1. Example: Uniform Sky
      2. Example: CIE Overcast Sky
      3. Example: CIE Overcast Sky Defined by Its Horizontal Illuminance
      4. The Ground "Glow": An "Upside-Down" Sky
      5. Summary
    4. Case Study II: Predicting Internal Illuminances
      1. A Simple Space
      2. Computing Daylight Factor Values
      3. The Dayfact Script (man page)
    5. Case Study III: Introducing Complexity
    6. DF Prediction: Tricks of the Trade
      1. Appropriate Complexity
      2. Views from the DF Plane
      3. The Ambient Exclude/Include Options
    7. Case Study IV: Creating Skies with Sun
      1. Gensky (man page)
      2. Time of Day Image Sequence (animation)
      3. Gendaylit (gendaylit.tar.Z)
      4. Sky Spectral Radiance Values
    8. Rendering Scenes Illuminated by Sunny Skies
      1. A Note about the Rad Program (man page)
      2. The Simple Space Lit by a Sunny Sky
      3. The Mkillum Approach (man page)
    9. Visualizing a Highly Detailed Atrium Scene (color figure)
      1. Ambient Calculation Parameter Values
      2. Batch Rendering
      3. Summary
    10. Conclusion

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    CHAPTER 7 - Roadway Lighting by Erich Phillips

    1. Roadways and Lighting
    2. Building a Road
    3. Roadway Lighting Metrics
    4. Veiling Luminance

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    CHAPTER 8 - Dramatic Lighting by Rob Shakespeare

    1. Stage Lighting Design (Fig. 8.1)
    2. Measuring and Modeling "Stage Lighting"
      1. Stage Lighting Photometry
      2. Color Changes Resulting from Dimming
      3. Color Filters
      4. Spectral Transmission Data
      5. Converting Spectral Data into Light
      6. Combining the Effects of Dimming and Color Filters
      7. A Practical Approach to Managing Dimming, Color Filters, and Photometry
      8. Adaptation and the Color of Light
      9. Organizing the Light Plot
      10. Shaping the Beam of Light
    3. Dramatic Lighting on the Skyline (Fig. 8.13, Fig. 8.15)
    4. Special Tool Kit
      1. Lines of Light
      2. Adding the Effects of Mist to a Scene (Fig. 8.20, animation)
      3. The Star Filter (pfilt man page)
    5. Large Data Sets (oconv man page)
    6. Summary

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    CHAPTER 9 - Animation by Peter Apian-Bennewitz

    1. Basics
      1. Real Cameras
      2. Specifying the Camera Path
    2. Interpolation Methods
      1. Geometric Path
      2. Camera Velocity and Time-Dependence
    3. Getting the Rendering Organized
      1. Disk Space
      2. CPU Time Needed
      3. "Preflight Checks"
      4. Examples Using Ranimate (man page)
      5. Ranimate Tricks
      6. Example Using an External Queue System
    4. Output (example animations)
      1. Available Media
      2. Recording to Videotape

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    PART III - CALCULATION METHODS

    CHAPTER 10 - Deterministic and Stochastic Ray Tracing

    1. Ray Tracing
    2. Deterministic versus Stochastic (Plate 10, Plate 11)
    3. The Radiance Equation (Plate 12, Plate 13)

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    CHAPTER 11 - Direct Calculation

    1. Selective Shadow Testing (EGRW '91 paper)
      1. Limitations
      2. Relation to Rendering Parameters
      3. Algorithm Details and Source Code
    2. Adaptive Source Subdivision
      1. Limitations
      2. Relation to Rendering Parameters
      3. Algorithm Details and Source Code
    3. Virtual Light Source Calculation
      1. Limitations
      2. Relation to Rendering Parameters
      3. Algorithm Details and Source Code
    4. Conclusion

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    CHAPTER 12 - Indirect Calculation

    1. Specular Sampling (Siggraph '92 paper)
      1. Limitations
      2. Relation to Rendering Parameters
      3. Algorithm Details and Source Code
    2. Indirect Irradiance Caching (Siggraph '88 paper, EGRW '92 paper, Plate 14)
      1. Computing Indirect Irradiance
      2. Diffuse Illumination
      3. Limitations
      4. Relation to Rendering Parameters
      5. Algorithm Details and Source Code
    3. Conclusion

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    CHAPTER 13 - Secondary Light Sources

    1. The Illum Material Type
      1. Illum Examples
      2. Limitations
      3. Relation of Illum Type to Other Radiance Algorithms
      4. Algorithms and Source Code
    2. The Mkillum Program (man page)
      1. Mkillum Sampling Method
      2. Limitations
      3. Mkillum Parameters
      4. Algorithms and Source Code
    3. Conclusion

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    CHAPTER 14 - Single-Scatter Participating Media (Mist)

    1. Properties of Participating Media
    2. The Mist Material Type
    3. Rendering Participating Media
      1. Limitations
      2. Relation to Rendering Parameters
      3. Algorithm Details and Source Code
    4. Conclusion

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    CHAPTER 15 - Parallel Rendering Computations

    1. Goals
      1. Challenges
    2. Approach
      1. Indirect Value Sharing
      2. Multiprocessor Platforms
      3. User Control
    3. Limitations
    4. Rendering Parameters
    5. Algorithms and Source Code
      1. Indirect Value Sharing
      2. Memory Sharing
      3. Animation
      4. Large-Image Rendering (test report)
    6. Conclusion

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    PART IV - REFERENCE MATERIALS (electronic only)

    CHAPTER 16 - Radiance Reference Manual (refman.pdf)

    1. Introduction
    2. Scene Description
      1. Primitive Types
        1. Surfaces
        2. Materials
        3. Textures
        4. Patterns
        5. Mixtures
      2. Auxiliary Files
        1. Function Files
        2. Data Files
        3. Font Files
      3. Generators
    3. Image Generation
    4. License
    5. Acknowledgements
    6. References
    7. Types Index

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    CHAPTER 17 - Radiance Man Pages (manpages.pdf)

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    CHAPTER 18 - Radiance File Formats (filefmts.pdf)

  • Scene Description Format (.rad suffix)
  • Basic File Structure
  • Scene Hierarchy
  • Radiance Programs
  • Radiance C Library
  • Function File Format (.cal suffix)
  • Language Features
  • Standard Definitions (Library)
  • Radiance Programs
  • Radiance C Library
  • Data File Format (.dat suffix)
  • Radiance Programs
  • Radiance C Library
  • Font File Format (.fnt suffix)
  • Radiance Programs
  • Radiance C Library
  • Octree Format (.oct suffix)
  • Basic File Structure
  • Radiance Programs
  • Radiance C Library
  • Picture File Format (.pic suffix)
  • Basic File Structure
  • Radiance Programs
  • Radiance C Library
  • Z-buffer Format (.zbf suffix)
  • Radiance Programs
  • Ambient File Format (.amb suffix)
  • Radiance Programs
  • Radiance C Library
  • Conclusion
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    CHAPTER 19 - Behavior of Materials in Radiance (materials.pdf)

    1. Definitions
      1. Derived Variables
      2. Vector Math
      3. Color Math
    2. Light Sources
    3. Specular Types
      1. Mirror
      2. Dielectric
      3. Glass
    4. Basic Reflection Model
      1. Plastic
      2. Metal
      3. Trans
      4. Anisotropic Types
      5. BRDF Types

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    CHAPTER 20 - Radiance Source Tree (srctree.pdf)

  • Scene Format Translators
  • Generators and Scene Manipulators
  • Scene Compilers
  • Rendering Programs
  • Picture Filters and Translators
  • Utility Programs
  • Conclusion
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