Context. Indirect illumination – the light contribution from bounce light in an environment – is an important effect when creating realistic images. Historically it has been approximated very poorly by applying a constant ambient term. This approximation is unacceptable if the goal is to create realistic results as bouncing light contributes a lot of light in the real world. Objectives. This thesis proposes a technique to use a reflective shadow map to place and configure spotlights in an environment to approximate global illumination. Methods. The proposed spotlight distribution technique is implemented in a delimited real time graphics engine, and the results are compared to a naive spotlight distribution method. Results. The image resulting from the proposed technique has a lower quality than the comparison in our test scene. Conclusions. The technique could be used in its current state for applications where the view can be controlled by the developer such as in 3D side scrolling games or as a tool to generate editable indirect illumination. Further research needs to be conducted to make it more broadly viable. / Indirekt illuminering är en viktigt effekt om en försöker skapa realistiska bilder. Den här uppsatsen föreslår en teknik där en reflektiv skuggkarta används för att placera och konfigurera strålkastare för att approximera indirekt illuminering. Tekniken kan användas i till exempel sidscrollande 3D spel eller för att skapa ett verktyg som kan användas för att skapa redigerbar indirekt illuminering. Vidare forskning krävs för att göra tekniken rimlig för flera användningsområden.

Skuggor i 3D-miljöer är ett mycket efterforskat område, och detta arbete koncentrerar sig på shadow map-algoritmen. Det finns ett problem med denna algoritm, för då en shadow map projiceras på en yta som är större än sig själv så bildas stora trappstegseffekter, vilket kallas aliasing. Problemet som har undersökts är hur olika shadow map-algoritmer i en miljö med långa skuggor beter sig, där ett minimerat antal artefakter så som brus och aliasing är synligt. För detta undersöktes Percentage-Closer Filtering (PCF), som är en variant av shadow map, med olika samplingstekniker – och även en vidarebyggnad med Percentage-Closer Soft Shadow (PCSS) implementerades. Mätningar av realism och brusmängd genomfördes med en användarstudie. Prestandan mättes i klockcykler. Resultatet visade att PCF med samplingstekniken Edge Tap Smoothing kan vara den algoritm som lämpar sig bäst i situationer med långa skuggor i en 3D-miljö; detta för att den interpolerar mellan de projicerade texlarna.

Um dos algoritmos para cálculo de sombras mais eficientes existentes atualmente é o Shadow Mapping de Williams. Ele é simples, robusto e facilmente mapeável para o hardware gráfico existente. Este algoritmo conta com duas etapas. A primeira é responsável pela geração de um depth buffer (Shadow Map) a partir do ponto de vista da luz. Na segunda etapa a imagem final da cena é gerada a partir do ponto de vista da câmera. De maneira a determinar se os pixels da imagem final estão iluminados ou em sombra, cada pixel é transformado para o espaço da luz e testado contra o Shadow Map. Shadow Maps tradicionais armazenam apenas um valor de profundidade por célula, fazendo com que os testes de sombra retornem valores binários. Isso pode ocasionar o surgimento de aliasing nas bordas das sombras. Este trabalho apresenta uma nova abordagem capaz de produzir melhores resultados de suavização que, em conjunto com o algoritmo de PCF (Percentage Closer Filtering), reduz o serrilhado das bordas das sombras através do uso de filtros de menor tamanho. O novo algoritmo estende os conceitos de Shadow Map e de teste de sombra de forma a suportarem múltiplos valores de profundidade. Esta nova abordagem apresenta potencial para implementação em hardware, e também pode ser implementada explorando a programabilidade das recentes placas gráficas. / William’s Shadow Mapping is one of the most efficient hard shadow algorithms. It is simple, robust and can be easily mapped to the actual grapics hardware. It is a two-pass technique. In the first pass a depth buffer (Shadow Map) is created from the light’s view point. In the second pass the final image is rendered from the camera’s view point. In order to decide whether each pixel in the camera’s view is lit or in shadow with respect to the light source, the pixel is transformed into the light space, and tested against the Shadow Map. Shadow maps store a single depth value per cell, leading to a binary outcome by the shadow test, and are prone to produce aliased shadow borders. This work presents a new approach that produces better estimates of shadow percentages and, in combination with percentage closer filtering (PCF), reduces aliasing artifacts using smaller kernel sizes. The new algorithm extends the notions of shadow map and shadow test to support the representation of multiple depth values per shadow map cell, as well as multi-valued shadow test. This new approach has the potential for hardware implementation, but can also be implemented exploiting the programmable capabilities of recent graphics cards.

Shadows contribute significantly to the perceived realism of an image, and provide an important depth cue. Rendering high quality, antialiased shadows efficiently is a difficult problem. To antialias shadows, it is necessary to compute partial visibilities, but computing these visibilities using existing approaches is often too slow for interactive applications. Shadow maps are a widely used technique for real-time shadow rendering. One major drawback of shadow maps is aliasing, because the shadow map data cannot be filtered in the same way as colour textures. In this thesis, I present variance shadow maps (VSMs). Variance shadow maps use a linear representation of the depth distributions in the shadow map, which enables the use of standard linear texture filtering algorithms. Thus VSMs can address the problem of shadow aliasing using the same highly-tuned mechanisms that are available for colour images. Given the mean and variance of the depth distribution, Chebyshev's inequality provides an upper bound on the fraction of a shaded fragment that is occluded, and I show that this bound often provides a good approximation to the true partial occlusion. For more difficult cases, I show that warping the depth distribution can produce multiple bounds, some tighter than others. Based on this insight, I present layered variance shadow maps, a scalable generalization of variance shadow maps that partitions the depth distribution into multiple segments. This reduces or eliminates an artifact - "light bleeding" - that can appear when using the simpler version of variance shadow maps. Additionally, I demonstrate exponential variance shadow maps, which combine moments computed from two exponentially-warped depth distributions. Using this approach, high quality results are produced at a fraction of the storage cost of layered variance shadow maps. These algorithms are easy to implement on current graphics hardware and provide efficient, scalable solutions to the problem of shadow map aliasing.

Shadows contribute significantly to the perceived realism of an image, and provide an important depth cue. Rendering high quality, antialiased shadows efficiently is a difficult problem. To antialias shadows, it is necessary to compute partial visibilities, but computing these visibilities using existing approaches is often too slow for interactive applications. Shadow maps are a widely used technique for real-time shadow rendering. One major drawback of shadow maps is aliasing, because the shadow map data cannot be filtered in the same way as colour textures. In this thesis, I present variance shadow maps (VSMs). Variance shadow maps use a linear representation of the depth distributions in the shadow map, which enables the use of standard linear texture filtering algorithms. Thus VSMs can address the problem of shadow aliasing using the same highly-tuned mechanisms that are available for colour images. Given the mean and variance of the depth distribution, Chebyshev's inequality provides an upper bound on the fraction of a shaded fragment that is occluded, and I show that this bound often provides a good approximation to the true partial occlusion. For more difficult cases, I show that warping the depth distribution can produce multiple bounds, some tighter than others. Based on this insight, I present layered variance shadow maps, a scalable generalization of variance shadow maps that partitions the depth distribution into multiple segments. This reduces or eliminates an artifact - "light bleeding" - that can appear when using the simpler version of variance shadow maps. Additionally, I demonstrate exponential variance shadow maps, which combine moments computed from two exponentially-warped depth distributions. Using this approach, high quality results are produced at a fraction of the storage cost of layered variance shadow maps. These algorithms are easy to implement on current graphics hardware and provide efficient, scalable solutions to the problem of shadow map aliasing.

Um dos algoritmos para cálculo de sombras mais eficientes existentes atualmente é o Shadow Mapping de Williams. Ele é simples, robusto e facilmente mapeável para o hardware gráfico existente. Este algoritmo conta com duas etapas. A primeira é responsável pela geração de um depth buffer (Shadow Map) a partir do ponto de vista da luz. Na segunda etapa a imagem final da cena é gerada a partir do ponto de vista da câmera. De maneira a determinar se os pixels da imagem final estão iluminados ou em sombra, cada pixel é transformado para o espaço da luz e testado contra o Shadow Map. Shadow Maps tradicionais armazenam apenas um valor de profundidade por célula, fazendo com que os testes de sombra retornem valores binários. Isso pode ocasionar o surgimento de aliasing nas bordas das sombras. Este trabalho apresenta uma nova abordagem capaz de produzir melhores resultados de suavização que, em conjunto com o algoritmo de PCF (Percentage Closer Filtering), reduz o serrilhado das bordas das sombras através do uso de filtros de menor tamanho. O novo algoritmo estende os conceitos de Shadow Map e de teste de sombra de forma a suportarem múltiplos valores de profundidade. Esta nova abordagem apresenta potencial para implementação em hardware, e também pode ser implementada explorando a programabilidade das recentes placas gráficas. / William’s Shadow Mapping is one of the most efficient hard shadow algorithms. It is simple, robust and can be easily mapped to the actual grapics hardware. It is a two-pass technique. In the first pass a depth buffer (Shadow Map) is created from the light’s view point. In the second pass the final image is rendered from the camera’s view point. In order to decide whether each pixel in the camera’s view is lit or in shadow with respect to the light source, the pixel is transformed into the light space, and tested against the Shadow Map. Shadow maps store a single depth value per cell, leading to a binary outcome by the shadow test, and are prone to produce aliased shadow borders. This work presents a new approach that produces better estimates of shadow percentages and, in combination with percentage closer filtering (PCF), reduces aliasing artifacts using smaller kernel sizes. The new algorithm extends the notions of shadow map and shadow test to support the representation of multiple depth values per shadow map cell, as well as multi-valued shadow test. This new approach has the potential for hardware implementation, but can also be implemented exploiting the programmable capabilities of recent graphics cards.

Um dos algoritmos para cálculo de sombras mais eficientes existentes atualmente é o Shadow Mapping de Williams. Ele é simples, robusto e facilmente mapeável para o hardware gráfico existente. Este algoritmo conta com duas etapas. A primeira é responsável pela geração de um depth buffer (Shadow Map) a partir do ponto de vista da luz. Na segunda etapa a imagem final da cena é gerada a partir do ponto de vista da câmera. De maneira a determinar se os pixels da imagem final estão iluminados ou em sombra, cada pixel é transformado para o espaço da luz e testado contra o Shadow Map. Shadow Maps tradicionais armazenam apenas um valor de profundidade por célula, fazendo com que os testes de sombra retornem valores binários. Isso pode ocasionar o surgimento de aliasing nas bordas das sombras. Este trabalho apresenta uma nova abordagem capaz de produzir melhores resultados de suavização que, em conjunto com o algoritmo de PCF (Percentage Closer Filtering), reduz o serrilhado das bordas das sombras através do uso de filtros de menor tamanho. O novo algoritmo estende os conceitos de Shadow Map e de teste de sombra de forma a suportarem múltiplos valores de profundidade. Esta nova abordagem apresenta potencial para implementação em hardware, e também pode ser implementada explorando a programabilidade das recentes placas gráficas. / William’s Shadow Mapping is one of the most efficient hard shadow algorithms. It is simple, robust and can be easily mapped to the actual grapics hardware. It is a two-pass technique. In the first pass a depth buffer (Shadow Map) is created from the light’s view point. In the second pass the final image is rendered from the camera’s view point. In order to decide whether each pixel in the camera’s view is lit or in shadow with respect to the light source, the pixel is transformed into the light space, and tested against the Shadow Map. Shadow maps store a single depth value per cell, leading to a binary outcome by the shadow test, and are prone to produce aliased shadow borders. This work presents a new approach that produces better estimates of shadow percentages and, in combination with percentage closer filtering (PCF), reduces aliasing artifacts using smaller kernel sizes. The new algorithm extends the notions of shadow map and shadow test to support the representation of multiple depth values per shadow map cell, as well as multi-valued shadow test. This new approach has the potential for hardware implementation, but can also be implemented exploiting the programmable capabilities of recent graphics cards.

This thesis discusses two different methods for creating soft shadows. Shadow volumes and shadow mapping, more accurately Variance Soft Shadow Mapping. It presents theory for these shadow algorithms as well as theory for few others which are necessary for understanding. Further it describes how to implement these methods and evaluates these implementations. Shadow volumes are based on creating additional geometry to the scene which serves for specifying region of penumbra. VSSM algorithm is a improved version of classic shadow mapping.