Computer Graphics

Color and Tone

Turning radiance into pixels a display can show.

Colour is the family; a dashed line is the second member of it.

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G aces ACES filmic-tonemapping Filmic Tone Mapping aces->filmic-tonemapping a whole managed pipeline, not just an output curve reinhard-tonemapping Reinhard Tone Mapping filmic-tonemapping->reinhard-tonemapping an S-curve with a toe, matching film response hero-wavelength-sampling Hero Wavelength Spectral Sampling spectral-rendering Spectral Rendering hero-wavelength-sampling->spectral-rendering one wavelength per path is unusably noisy linear-workflow Linear Workflow srgb sRGB Transfer Function linear-workflow->srgb inputs are encoded and must be decoded before any math tone-mapping Tone Mapping reinhard-tonemapping->tone-mapping a rational curve that never clips spectral-rendering->linear-workflow RGB math cannot express dispersion or metamerism tone-mapping->linear-workflow compressing radiance only makes sense in linear light

8 nodes

sRGB Transfer Function

The near-gamma-2.2 encoding almost all image files and displays use. It allocates more precision to darks, matching human contrast sensitivity, and i… · 1996

Reinhard Tone Mapping

A simple rational curve that maps zero to zero and infinity to one, so nothing ever clips. Desaturates highlights and leaves images looking flat, but… · 2002

Filmic Tone Mapping

An S-shaped curve with a toe and shoulder fitted to photographic film response, which holds saturation in the highlights where a simple ratio curve w… · 2010

Hero Wavelength Spectral Sampling

Carries several correlated wavelengths per path, one chosen and the rest derived from it, which removes most of the colour noise that sampling a sing… · 2014

ACES

A standardized colour management pipeline with defined working spaces and a reference rendering transform, so that the same render matches across dis…

Linear Workflow

Decode textures to linear light on read, do every lighting operation in linear space, and encode once on output. Blending or filtering encoded values…

Spectral Rendering

Transports light at wavelengths rather than as RGB triples. Required for dispersion, fluorescence and correct metamerism under unusual illuminants, w…

Tone Mapping

Maps unbounded scene radiance into the range a display can emit. Every renderer needs one, and the choice of curve is as much a look decision as a te…