Essential Guide to Renderman(r) Shading Plugin Development: Understanding Bxdfs

Understand the fundamentals of Bxdf plugins for RenderMan(R) 21+, both the technical details and API architecture. The main goal of the book is to enable technical artists, hobbyists, and students in using the noncommercial (NCR), free RenderMan(R) edition. RenderMan(R) is an industry standard for rendering software. It has been used for every Pixar film to date and numerous other projects. RenderMan(R) 21, and all subsequent versions, use Monte Carlo path tracing. This change has necessitated the use of C++ plugins in place of the RenderMan Shader Language (RSL). Because of this, writing Bxdfs now requires knowledge of Monte Carlo integration, probability density functions, and the RenderMan(R) C++ API. Essential Guide to RenderMan(R) Shading Plugin Development specifically addresses writing RenderMan(R) C++ materials. It explores the mathematical models of representative Bxdfs while drawing parallels, when helpful, to earlier RSL implementations. It also includes an overview of Integrators, providing further context for modern RenderMan(R) programmable shading. What You Will Learn

• C++ development for Bxdfs
• Fundamentals of the rendering equation
• Monte Carlo integration

Who Is This Book ForBeginner plugin writers for RenderMan(R), such as technical artists, students, or hobbyists who may already have experience with RSL or another shader language. More experienced C++ developers without knowledge of RenderMan(R) or Monte Carlo path tracing will benefit from the content as well. While some prior experience in computer graphics is helpful, the book provides background and references for further study.

了解 RenderMan(R) 21+ 的 Bxdf 插件的基礎知識，包括技術細節和 API 架構。本書的主要目標是讓技術藝術家、愛好者和學生能夠使用非商業版 (NCR) 的免費 RenderMan(R) 版本。RenderMan(R) 是一個業界標準的渲染軟體，被用於迪士尼皮克斯的每一部電影以及眾多其他項目。RenderMan(R) 21 和之後的版本使用蒙特卡羅路徑追蹤。這個改變使得需要使用 C++ 插件來替代 RenderMan Shader Language (RSL)。因此，撰寫 Bxdfs 現在需要了解蒙特卡羅積分、概率密度函數和 RenderMan(R) C++ API。《Essential Guide to RenderMan(R) Shading Plugin Development》專門介紹了撰寫 RenderMan(R) C++ 材質的方法。它探討了代表性 Bxdfs 的數學模型，並在需要時與早期的 RSL 實現進行對比。它還概述了 Integrators，進一步為現代 RenderMan(R) 可編程著色提供了背景。你將學到什麼：

• C++ 開發 Bxdfs


• 渲染方程的基礎知識


• 蒙特卡羅積分

這本書適合誰閱讀：RenderMan(R) 的初學者插件作者，如技術藝術家、學生或已經有 RSL 或其他著色語言經驗的愛好者。有經驗的 C++ 開發人員如果沒有 RenderMan(R) 或蒙特卡羅路徑追蹤的知識，也會從內容中受益。雖然一些計算機圖形學的先前經驗有所幫助，但本書提供了背景和參考資料供進一步學習。

Brad E. Hollister holds a PhD from the University of California Santa Cruz in Computer Science and has extensive software development experience both professionally and in areas of Open Source, including BRL-CAD, VTK, and SCIRun. His research includes scientific visualization, virtual reality simulation for training, and computer graphics. He is also faculty advisor for the Open Source Mozilla Campus Club at the California State University Dominguez Hills.

 

Dr. Hollister has authored the following books:

● Core Blender Development

● A Concise Introduction to Scientific Visualization

Brad E. Hollister擁有加州大學聖塔克魯茲分校的計算機科學博士學位，並在專業領域和開源領域（包括BRL-CAD、VTK和SCIRun）擁有豐富的軟體開發經驗。他的研究包括科學可視化、虛擬現實模擬培訓和電腦圖形學。他還是加州州立大學多明格斯山的開源Mozilla校園俱樂部的指導教授。

Hollister博士撰寫了以下書籍:
- 《Core Blender Development》
- 《A Concise Introduction to Scientific Visualization》