Rendering objects with small elements based on their micro and macro structures

The paper presents a method to render objects which consist of numerous small elements such as fur and leaves. The method visualizes both an effect under the pixel size such as the dark shade of fur toward viewers and an effect over the pixel size such as the shape of fur at contours. As for the effect under the pixel size, the intensity is computed based on the microstructure such as shadows by adjacent fur. After the intensity is computed, the shape of each element is generated by sweeping a two dimensional color element and applying transparency filters. Since shape generation is a post process, parameters such as length, width, curvature and color of small elements can be modified without repeating the intensity computation. It is useful for interactive design. The method is especially suitable to create still images because it is intrinsically two dimensional and screen resolution dependent. However techniques to keep three dimensional consistency and avoid problems of discreteness are taken into account for animation