Fresnel Equations Considered Harmful

Abstract

Microfacet shading models in film and game production have long used a simple approximation to the Fresnel equations, published by Schlick in 1994. Recently a growing number of film studios have transitioned to using the full Fresnel reflectance equations in lieu of Schlick's approximation. This transition has been facilitated by Gulbrandsen's 2014 parameterization which uses reflectance and edge tint instead of eta and kappa. Our recent investigations have found some unexpected drawbacks to this approach. In this presentation, we will show that in the context of RGB rendering (still by far the most common modality in film production), the Fresnel equations are actually less physically principled than Schlick's approximation. In addition, they are less robust in practice and less amenable to authoring. Most surprisingly, as commonly used the Fresnel equations result in less accurate matches to measured materials, compared to Schlick's approximation. The presentation primarily discusses metal reflectance, since our investigations so far have focused on metals.