Computer Science › Section K · Computer graphics › Topic K.4
Global lighting: ray tracing and radiosity
Shadows, mirrors, glass and the soft glow that one wall throws onto another all come from light passing between objects. Ray tracing and radiosity capture those interactions, at a far higher computing cost than the rendering pipeline.
In this topic
- Local versus global lighting
- Tracing light backwards
- Where a ray hits a sphere
- Worked example: a ray meets a sphere
- Recursion: mirrors and glass
- Worked example: a bounce and its cost
- Distributed ray tracing
- Radiosity: energy between patches
- Worked example: two patches
- Comparing the two methods
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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