Patent ID: 7937245

Claim:
A method for rendering a scene comprising the steps of: providing a pixel to be rendered, the pixel being associated with a first point on a translucent object's surface, the translucent object being part of the scene; determining a first order color of the pixel, wherein the determination of the first order color is an approximation that does not sufficiently take subsurface scattered light into account; generating, using a processor, a photon map, the photon map including values of colors of a plurality of points within the scene and providing at least some information relating to the position of each of the plurality of points within the scene, wherein said values of colors that are included by the photon map are derived through direct illumination methods only; generating a second order color by: generating a first component of the second order color, the first component based on data from the photon map associated with a first plurality of selected points from the plurality of points, wherein one of the first plurality of selected points is the first point, the first component representing the contribution of subsurface scattered light over a first area illuminated by rays originating from a camera side of the translucent object; generating a second component of the second order color, the second component based on data from the photon map associated with a second plurality of selected points from the plurality of points, wherein one of the second plurality of selected points is a second point on the translucent object's surface opposite to the first point, the second component representing the contribution of subsurface scattered light over a second area illuminated by rays originating from a side opposite the camera side of the translucent object, wherein one of the rays originating from a side opposite the camera side would enter the translucent object at the second point, pass through the translucent object, and exit at the first point; and decaying the second component based on a distance between the first area and the second area of the translucent object; and adding the first and second components in order to take subsurface scattered light into account.