Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Yining Karl Li

Daniel Teece

Mark Lee

Ralf Habel

Peter Kutz

Techniques are disclosed for interactive editing of virtual three-dimensional scenes. In the disclosed techniques, rendering is divided into (1) an interactive phase during which a user interactively edits a virtual scene while preview image frames are rendered using a modified ray tracing technique, and (2) a refinement phase during which full ray tracing is performed to show the user a final rendered image frame. The modified ray tracing technique may limit the number of bounces of light rays and/or the computations performed at each bounce, thereby reducing computational expense relative to a full ray tracing technique. Further, the modified ray tracing technique may be user-selectable and associated with a particular department within an animation studio.

Interactive editing of virtual three-dimensional scenes

According to one implementation, a system for rendering a volume includes a computing platform having a hardware processor, and a system memory storing a volume rendering software code. The hardware processor is configured to execute the volume rendering software code to receive data characterizing a volume to be rendered and to decompose the volume into a first volume portion and a second volume portion. The hardware processor is further configured to execute the volume rendering software code to perform a first tracking of a light ray in the first volume portion to determine a first interaction distance of the light ray in the first volume portion, perform a second tracking of the light ray in the second volume portion to determine a second interaction distance of the light ray in the second volume portion, and render the volume based on the shorter of the first and second interaction distances.

Growing community of inventors

Studio City, CA, United States of America

Yining Karl Li