Evaluation of Methods for Approximating Shapes Used to Synthesize 3D Solid Textures

Abstract  In modern computer graphics applications, textures play an important role in conveying the appearance of real-world materials. But while surface appearance can often be effectively captured with a photograph, it is difficult to use example imagery to synthesize fully three-dimensional (3D) solid textures that are perceptually similar to their inputs. Specifically, this research focuses on human perception of 3D solid textures composed of aggregate particles in a binding matrix. Holding constant an established algorithm for approximating particle distributions, we examine the problem of estimating particle shape.We consider four methods for approximating plausible particle shapes—including two methods of our own contribution. We compare the performance of these methods under a variety of input conditions using automated, perceptually motivated metrics, as well as a psychophysical experiment. In the course of assessing the relative performance of the four algorithms, we also evaluate the reliability of the automated metrics in predicting the results of the experiment.