Simulating the appearance of sandy landscapes

Sand is one of the most complex materials found in nature. Undeniably the correct modelling of its appearance attributes (such as hue, lightness, and glossiness) is essential to the realistic image synthesis of a wide range of outdoor scenes. Despite this central role, to date, few simulation efforts have been specifically directed to this ubiquitous material. In this paper, we present a modular framework for simulating the appearance of sandy landscapes. It is based on the use of a comprehensive light transport model specifically designed for granular materials like sand, and robust numerical reconstruction methods. While the former provides the physical basis for the generation of predictive results, the latter add efficiency to entire simulation process by enabling the use of analytical formulae to represent the spectral and spatial (scattering related) appearance attributes of sand. The fidelity and usefulness of the proposed framework are demonstrated through several image sequences depicting sand appearance variations resulting from changes of mineralogical characteristics and environmental conditions.