Affective Rendering

Current computer graphics systems are generally based on the premise that the job of the renderer is to give a photographic, objective representation of a 3-D model. The result is pictures which are
breath-taking in their accuracy and realism, but also often cold and impersonal. Even non-photorealistic rendering, in which rendering is done in styles that mimic various ways of painting or drawing, is generally based on the concept that an objective situation (3-D model) must be accurately displayed; it is simply done in a painterly instead of photographic way.

Humans, on the other hand, do not just make drawings to illustrate an objective situation; certainly neither modern art nor children's drawings would be popular if the overarching criterion for judging drawing were physical accuracy! Human drawings themselves are a form of communication, through which we learn about the artist and his or her perspective on the situation portrayed. In contrast, 3-D renderers show the physical appearance of the objects in the model, but do not communicate any psychological or subjective perspective on them. The goal of the affective rendering project is to develop strategies for computer graphics which allow these psychological, subjective, emotional aspects to be communicated.

Back to my work page.