Light transport theory deals with the mathematics behind calculating the energy transfers between media that affect visibility. This article is currently specific to light transport in rendering processes such as global illumination

Global illumination

Global illumination is a general name for a group of algorithms used in 3D computer graphics that are meant to add more realistic lighting to 3D scenes...

 and HDRI

High dynamic range imaging

In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high dynamic range imaging is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods...

.

Light Transport

The amount of light transported is measured by flux density, that is flux per unit area.

Hemisphere

Given a surface S, a hemisphere H can be projected on to S to calculate the amount of incoming and outgoing light . If a point P is selected at random on the surface S, the amount of light incoming and outgoing can be calculated by its projection onto the hemisphere.

Hemicube

The hemicube model works in a similar way that the hemisphere model works, with the exception that a hemicube is projected as opposed to a hemisphere. The similarity is only in concept, the actual calculation done by integration has a different form factor.

Rendering

Rendering converts a model into an image either by simulating light transport to get physically based photorealistic images, or by applying some kind of style as in non-photorealistic rendering

Non-photorealistic rendering

Non-Photorealistic rendering is an area of computer graphics that focuses on enabling a wide variety of expressive styles for digital art. In contrast to traditional computer graphics, which has focused on photorealism, NPR is inspired by artistic styles such as painting, drawing, technical...

. The two basic operations in realistic rendering are transport (how much light gets from one place to another) and scattering (how surfaces interact with light).

See also

• Global illumination
  Global illumination
  Global illumination is a general name for a group of algorithms used in 3D computer graphics that are meant to add more realistic lighting to 3D scenes...
  
  
• Monte Carlo Method
  Monte Carlo method
  Monte Carlo methods are a class of computational algorithms that rely on repeated random sampling to compute their results. Monte Carlo methods are often used in computer simulations of physical and mathematical systems...
  
  
• Photon mapping
  Photon mapping
  In computer graphics, photon mapping is a two-pass global illumination algorithm developed by Henrik Wann Jensen that solves the rendering equation. Rays from the light source and rays from the camera are traced independently until some termination criterion is met, then they are connected in a...
  
  
• Radiosity
  Radiosity
  Radiosity is a global illumination algorithm used in 3D computer graphics rendering. Radiosity is an application of the finite element method to solving the rendering equation for scenes with purely diffuse surfaces...
  
  
• Ray tracing (graphics)
• Ray tracing (physics)
  Ray tracing (physics)
  In physics, ray tracing is a method for calculating the path of waves or particles through a system with regions of varying propagation velocity, absorption characteristics, and reflecting surfaces. Under these circumstances, wavefronts may bend, change direction, or reflect off surfaces,...
  
  
• Reyes rendering
  Reyes rendering
  Reyes rendering is a computer software architecture used in 3D computer graphics to render photo-realistic images. It was developed in the mid-1980s by Loren Carpenter and Robert L. Cook at Lucasfilm's Computer Graphics Research Group, which is now Pixar. It was first used in 1982 to render images...