Press Clips from 2018
February 23, 2018
New Atlas
Computer-generated fur gets more realistic
If you're not satisfied with the realism of computer-generated animals in movies and games, then you might be interested in the latest news out of the University of California San Diego. Working with colleagues from UC Berkeley, computer scientists there have developed a new method of rendering fur that's reportedly much more accurate than existing techniques. Currently, fur is simulated in the same manner as is human hair - the computer utilizes a model that follows a ray of light as it bounces from one fur fiber to another. The technique requires a lot of processing power, Full Story
February 23, 2018
engadget
AI is making more realistic CG animal fur
Creating realistic animal fur has always been a vexing problem for 3D animators because of the complex way the fibers interact with light. Now, thanks to our ubiquitous friend artificial intelligence, University of California researchers have found a way to do it better. "Our model generates much more accurate simulations and is 10 times faster than the state of the art," said lead author Ravi Ramamoorthi. The result could be that very soon, you'll see more believable (and no doubt cuter) furry critters in movies, TV and video games. A lot of fur rendering systems were designed for human hair Full Story
February 23, 2018
GIZMODO
Just Look at This Freakin' CGI Fur
When you look at fur, the light has taken an extended journey before hitting your eye, bouncing around lots of fur fibers and their microscopic structures. You can imagine that it's quite difficult for filmmakers to render these structures in CGI. Researchers at the Universities of California in San Diego and Berkeley have devised an improvement over fur rendering that they think is both more efficient and more practical. It's ten times faster than previous methods, and incorporates a more realistic model of fur to create more realistic images. Full Story
February 23, 2018
Electronics 360 powered by IEEE GlobalSpec
Watch: Rendering Realistic Fur
Scientists in California get to work on the coolest things. Take, for instance, the challenge of making computer-generated creatures look more realistic for their role in computer-animated films, special effects and video games. Recently, at the SIGGRAPH Asia conference in Thailand, researchers from UC San Diego and UC Berkeley presented their method for dramatically improving the way computers simulate fur - specifically, the way light bounces within an animal's pelt. Full Story