Writing mental ray® Shaders

An increasing number of artists and programmers in visual effects and broadcast production now use mental ray, a high performance rendering engine for generating photorealistic images. This book details the aesthetics of rendering with mental ray. It describes the varieties of shader programming from the point of view of increasing perceptual complexity: from color, to the effects of light, to the manipulation of shape, to the output of the final image. It includes many example shaders, including the simplest shader possible in each category that can serve as a starting point for further customization. These examples will also provide a basis for training artists interested in extending their technical skills by learning how the write shaders for mental ray.

A tutorial introduction to mental ray shader programming Includes the full source code for 100 shaders and illustrated with over 200 rendered scenes and diagrams Cross-references with the first two volumes of mental ray handbooks Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Inhalt
Structure.- The structure of the scene.- The structure of a shader.- Shaders in the scene.- Color.- A single color.- Color from orientation.- Color from position.- The transparency of a surface.- Color from functions.- The color of edges.- Light.- Lights.- Light on a surface.- Shadows.- Reflection.- Refraction.- Light from other surfaces.- Shape.- Modifying surface geometry.- Modifying surface orientation.- Creating geometric objects.- Modeling hair.- Space.- The environment of the scene.- A visible atmosphere.- Volumetric effects.- Image.- Changing the lens.- Rendering image components.- Modifying the final image.