ABSTRACT
Much of the history of computer graphics has been devoted to photorealistic rendering, the goal of which is to simulate the real-world interaction and transfer of light. As evidenced by the work described in the earlier chapters, much progress has been made toward the completion of this goal. The rendering equation introduced in Chapter 2 is a fundamental expression governing global illumination, a key component of photorealistic rendering; however, the lack of volumetric effects, including participating media and subsurface scattering, is an intrinsic limitation. Chapters 3 and 4 described methods for rendering these effects. Various optimizations have improved accuracy and efficiency, but accurate interactive GI computation remains difficult.
