 |
the 3-step approach
For seamless renderer integration, the Maya-PBRT renderer divides into three separate stages.
| step 1 | The renderer will export the Maya scene to a PBRT file using the methods described in the how maya works section. |
step 2 | The Maya-PBRT renderer will call the actual PBRT renderer from a separate thread and provide a status window for the Maya user. |
step 3 | The Maya-PBRT renderer will read the Targa file outputted by PBRT and display the image onto Maya's internal viewer. |
Each step in the approach represents a different Maya plug-in. Step 1 through 3 are realized through PBRTExport, LaunchPBRT, and PBRTView respectively.
exporter architecture
The architecture of the Maya scene exporter is designed in an OO-fashion to easily switch the software from a PBRT exporter to another scene format specification. The exporter consists of a camera class, handling Maya's camera class, an Object, Mesh, and PolgyonSet class, which are explained in the how maya works section, and two other base classes, Material and Light. Each base class contains a factory that determines, given a certain location in the DAG, the specific type of the Material or Light. For instance, the Material factory will look at the string associated with a material and determine what PBRT material most closely relates to Maya material. The light base class will try to construct the light different types of lights, such as a spot light or a point light, and based upon the success of the construction, return the appropriate light type. Additionally, these base classes all provide common methods for each extension of the base class. For instance, the material method provides a common method for determining the location of the texture for a color plug.
::back::
|
|
university of central florida : graphics group |
|
 |
