A Modular Authoring Tool for Atmospheric Cloud Modelling

Abstract

Modelling of atmospheric effects and, in particular, of clouds is a recurrent topic in computer graphics. Achieving realistic results poses a great challenge, and manual modelling of such complex structures is unfeasible in production. The use of procedural techniques, either through simulation or heuristic methods, is, thus, frequent. In this work we propose a model that allows atmospheric cloud modelling with small computational effort and a good degree of control by the modeller, speeding up the artistic process. The model is designed hierarchically, can be extended easily due to its modular structure and it allows an intuitive control through a graphical user interface. The tests show a variety of effects that can be generated, and the influence of the different parameters on the render time of the final scene.