A first step toward photorealistic rendering of coated surfaces and computer-based standards of appearance

In an effort to understand the physical basis for coating and surface appearance we are combining the results of optical and surface topographical measurements, mathematical modeling and computer graphic rendering. We seek to explore the feasibility of producing computer graphic images to visualize the color and gloss of surfaces using measured data and models so that rendering becomes a tool to identify important parameters in the material formulation process that contribute to appearance. Here we report on a study of gloss variation in a series of samples with controlled roughness. The work makes use of the sample preparation, characterization and measurement described in [3]. Modeling based on that data was used to produce computer graphic images of the samples. We also briefly describe work on the rendering of data from some early measurements of colored metallic paint.