Patent ID: 8102394

Claim:
A method for generating a representation of an image, the method being executable in a computer graphics system comprising a computer operable to generate an image based on an image representation, for storage or for display on a display element, and wherein the generating of an image comprises generating, in the computer, pixel values corresponding to pixels in the image representation, the method comprising: constructing, in the computer, a sparse implicit scene representation based at least in part on an input scene description, the sparse implicit scene representation having associated therewith a set of finite elements, wherein the representation is independent of geometric encoding and complexity of the input scene description, and the density of the finite elements is proportional to their contributions to the image to be generated, such that the geometric resolution of a given area of the scene representation is proportional to its importance relative to the image to be generated, wherein the constructing comprises executing, in the computer, a Monte Carlo or quasi-Monte Carlo path tracing method to sample an adjoint importance distribution function and to shoot importons from a simulated camera into the scene, and recording, in the computer, for each simulated bounce, a particle i defined by selected information, the selected information comprising: 3D position p i , surface normal n i , and reflectance factor ρ i ; further comprising applying, in the computer, any of cell sampling, area and form factor estimates; and utilizing, in the computer, hierarchical stochastic sampling and sample warping in which importance samples are redistributed over a set of basis function indices using at least one warping function.