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Perfect Digital Skin

Posted by michael on from the now-with-benzoyl-peroxide dept.

ILMfan writes "BBC Technology is describing a new graphics algorithm for creating perfect virtual skin. This technique by graphics wizard Henrik Jensen (the guy who invented photon mapping) is already being used in movies (it was used on Gollum in Lord of the Rings, and it will be used in the soon-to-be-released van Helsing movie). And perhaps more exciting is that several game companies are planning on using it for their next generation games. So John Carmack are you listening? Any chance this can be included in DOOM3? Of course there are endless other opportunities for virtual humans with perfect skin :-)"

5 of 323 comments (clear)

  1. Subsurface scattering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Just in case anyone's wondering what that magical technique is: It's called subsurface scattering and simulates the light flow within materials, not just on the surface.

  2. SSS by Capt'n+Hector · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How is this any different than sub-surface scattering? I know there are a few lightwave plugins out there that can do this. Something I googled

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  3. Re:Old news... by d-rock · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Right, when I saw this article I was thinking: "What, something beyond subsurface scattering?" This has been out for a couple of years. That doesn't make it any less cool, but I'd like to see more Slashdot stuff on newer graphics techniques, like General Purpose GPU stuff (www.gpgpu.org) or new illumination models. It doesn't have to be front page, but I'd like for the graphics topic to be a little less "lite".

    Derek

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  4. Open Source Projects? by Abjifyicious · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Is this something we can expect to see in OSS anytime soon, or is there some kind of patent/copyright restriction? I would be thrilled if this feature showed up in Yafray or Blender...

  5. I worry about our humanity by crovira · · Score: 4, Interesting

    because, at some point, somebody is going to make a 1st-person-shooter with absolutely realistic looking victims.

    How long until it goes from subdermal photon scattering to absolutely realistic effects (of gibs flying off a body in the process of becoming a corpse.)

    We'll be able to make shots from a bullet's point of view as it pierces and rends.

    Will this enure us to the real thing?

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