Abstract: Methods for rendering a 3D object includes determining incident illumination for object surface points, determining surface colors associated with these points, determining diffuse illumination values associated with these points, associating a 3D grid having vertices the object, determining input scattering values for the vertices from the incident illumination and the surface colors associated with these points, low pass filtering the input scattering values to determine modified scattering values for the vertices, determining output scattering values for these points from the modified scattering values for the vertices, and determining reflected illumination values for these points from the output scattering values, surface material colors, and incident illumination for these points

Abstract: Rendering methods include receiving a 3D object including adjacent first and second objects, determining surface illumination for points on the first and second objects, associating first and second 3D grids with the first and second objects, mapping points of the first and second objects to the first and second 3D grids, determining surface illumination for vertices in the first and second 3D grids in response to the surface illumination for the first and second objects, performing a low pass filter on the surface illumination for vertices in the first and second 3D grids, determining first and second illumination compensation for points on the first and second objects, determining illumination compensation for vertices in the first and second 3D grids in response to the first and second illumination compensation for the first and second objects, combining the filtered surface illumination and illumination compensation for vertices in the first and second objects.

Abstract: Techniques for using a polynomial texture map (PTM) to encode micro-occlusions information. The micro-occlusions information stored in the PTM is then used to display micro-occlusions cast on a surface by surface geometries or other geometries under various irradiance conditions.

Abstract: Methods for rendering an object includes determining diffuse illumination values for object surface points, associating a 3D grid including vertices with the object, mapping object surface points to vertices, determining diffuse illumination values for vertices from the diffuse illumination values for object surface points, low pass filtering diffuse illumination values for the vertices to determine illumination compensation values for the vertices, determining illumination compensation values for the object surface points from the illumination compensation values for the vertices, and determining compensated diffuse illumination values for the object surface points from a weighted combination of the diffuse illumination values and illumination compensation values for the surface points.