Course 21: Writing RenderMan Shaders

                      Tony Apodaca   (Pixar)
                      Darwyn Peachey (Pixar)
                      Tom Porter     (Pixar)
                      Rick Sayre     (Pixar)
                      Eliot Smyrl    (Pixar)


                        Who Should Attend

Anyone who would like to write RenderMan shaders for high-quality
image or animation production.


                     Level/Desired Background

We called it Advanced, but don't let that scare you.
The course does require a solid background in both 3-D computer
grahics and programming, but you don't have to be a rocket scientist.
Some familiarity with the RenderMan Shading Language is strongly
encouraged (e.g., took the previous Siggraph course or have read
the "RenderMan Companion", or have written at least one shader).
We will be talking a lot about Shading Language programs, however,
so fluency in the C programming language is expected.


                        Course Description

The RenderMan Shading Language is a special-purpose programming
language that performs shading calculations in RenderMan rendering
programs.  Shading Language programs, called shaders, can be used to
model materials and effects in a physically realistic or in an
"unrealistic" artistic style.  Attendees learn how to write shaders
that create a rich visual world in applications such as animation,
CAD and presentation graphics.  Examples of successful RenderMan
images and animations will be presented as detailed case studies
to give attendees an injection of practical experience with the
Shading Language.


                        Course Objectives

The course covers the theory and practice of writing sophisticated
RenderMan shaders to simulate natural and artificial objects and
effects, such as: bricks, plants, fruit, fire, water and special
light sources, in rendering styles ranging from photorealistic to
cartoon style.  No one is going to become an instant expert, but the
attendees should learn some useful techniques of how to approach shader
writing problems, and should leave with the confidence that they too
can write visually complex shaders to simulate interesting surfaces.


                   Suggested Reading Material

   "The RenderMan Companion: A Programmer's Guide to Realistic Computer
    Graphics", Steve Upstill, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 0-201-50868-0

This is the basic textbook for RenderMan, and is a must read.
Chapters 11 through 16 cover shading and the relationship between
geometry and shaders.  The cover image and the color plates are the
kind of images that attendees will be able to make after attending
this course.

    "The RenderMan Interface and Shading Language", Siggraph 1991
    Course #21 Course Notes
    (or alternatively, Siggraph 1990 Course #18 Course Notes)

These are the notes to the previous course on RenderMan.  The second
half of the course notes concentrate on Shading Language basics, and
fulfill the prequisite for this course.  If you can find one of these,
you should take a few minutes to review them.

    
                      Speaker Biographies

Tony Apodaca is a Senior Engineer and Project Manager in the RenderMan
Division at Pixar.  Tony is co-developer and reigning Chief Architect
of the RenderMan Interface Specification.  He is also one of the
Unknown Implementors of Pixar's image synthesis products.  Tony received
his Master's degree in Computer and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute in 1986.  His screen credits include Tin Toy
and knickknack, but not Terminator 2.

Darwyn Peachey is an Animation Scientist at Pixar.  Since 1988 he has
worked on the design and implementation of the RenderMan renderers
and in-house animation software.  Darwyn received M.Sc. and B.Sc.
degrees in computer science from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Prior to joining Pixar he spent three years developing UNIX kernel
software and four years as a member of the computer science research
staff at the University of Saskatchewan.

Tom Porter is Director of Effects Animation at Pixar.  Tom has been
working in 3-D graphics since 1976.  He wrote the software for the
first commercial paint program (the Ampex AVA), developed fundamental
algorithms for digital compositing (which led to the Pixar Image
Computer) and for motion-blurred rendering.  Tom has taken time out
over the years to create still frame images (1984, Textbook Strike)
to advance the state of the art in computer generated photorealism,
his main research interest.

Eliot Smyrl joined Pixar in 1989 after receiving his M.S. and B.S.
degrees in Computer Science from the University of California at
Berkeley.  At Pixar, Eliot worked in the RenderMan Group developing
Looks software before joining the Animation Production Group in
January, 1991.  He currently serves as a technical director and
production software developer.  Eliot plays the trumpet and enjoys
wandering around uninhabited mountainous areas.

Rick Sayre joined Pixar in 1987.  He received his B.S.E.E. from the
University of California at Berkeley and studied film at the University
of California at Davis.  At Pixar, he built a wide variety of warping
and image processing tools and constructed shaders before joining the
Animation Production group, where he is a technical director and
production software developer.  Rick has outside interests which could
be used to label him Art Damaged, and occasionally blows up performance
artists.