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RenderMan Interface Specification
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<h2 id="required-capabilities">Required capabilities</h2> <p>For a renderer to call itself "RenderMan-compliant", it must implement at least the following capabilities: </p> <ul><li>A complete hierarchical graphics state, including the attribute and transformation stacks and the active light list.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Orthographic_projection/L3Cv9kYD">Orthographic</a> and <a href="/facts/Perspective_projection/zkNx7Wpf">perspective</a> viewing transformations.</li> <li>Depth-based <a href="/facts/Hidden_surface_determination/hk9dqmDE">hidden-surface</a> elimination.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Signal_reconstruction/seyYzE2l">Pixel filtering</a> and <a href="/facts/Spatial_anti-aliasing/od0SgvLy">spatial anti-aliasing</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Gamma_correction/cApBLTYj">Gamma correction</a> and <a href="/facts/Dithering/fCBytTzz">dithering</a> before <a href="/facts/Quantization_(image_processing)/hXzWCrmY">quantization</a>.</li> <li>Output of images containing any combination of RGB, A, and Z. The resolutions of these files must be as specified by the user.</li> <li>All of the <a href="/facts/Geometric_primitive/FmpXkhao">geometric primitives</a> described in the specification, and provide all of the standard primitive variables applicable to each primitive.</li> <li>The ability to perform shading calculations through user-programmable shading</li> <li>The ability to index texture maps, environment maps, and shadow depth maps</li> <li>The fifteen standard light source, surface, volume, displacement, and imager shaders required by the specification. Any additional shaders, and any deviations from the standard shaders presented in this specification, must be documented by providing the equivalent shader expressed in the RenderMan <a href="/facts/Shading_language/DyFraJM7">shading language</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="optional-advanced-capabilities">Optional advanced capabilities</h2> <p>Additionally, the renderer may implement any of the following optional capabilities: </p> <ul><li>Area light sources</li> <li><a href="/facts/Depth_of_field/xWo3J8b0">Depth of field</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Displacement_mapping/RPxgu1Fn">Displacement mapping</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Reflection_mapping/oPL8X8Br">Environment mapping</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Global_illumination/CbQX6CWM">Global illumination</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Level_of_detail_(computer_graphics)/tML95IT6">Level of detail</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Motion_blur/e6zkU22k">Motion blur</a></li> <li>Special camera projections</li> <li><a href="/facts/Spectral_colors/SG0F8xet">Spectral colors</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Ray_tracing_(graphics)/n6qpap2q">Ray tracing</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Solid_modeling/12J69aud">Solid modeling</a></li> <li>Volume shading</li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Anthony_Apodaca/HeQImxh0">Apodaca, Anthony A.</a>; Larry Gritz; Ronen Barzel (1999). <a href="https://archive.org/details/advancedrenderma00apod_0"><i>Advanced RenderMan: Creating CGI for Motion Pictures</i></a>. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1-55860-618-1. <a href="/facts/OCLC_(identifier)/Yqad8waq">OCLC</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/42621055">42621055</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/David_S._Ebert/fA0KJNyF">Ebert, David S.</a>; <a href="/facts/F._Kenton_Musgrave/Ioh7YXM1">F. Kenton Musgrave</a>; Darwyn Peachey; <a href="/facts/Ken_Perlin/9a8zKPlR">Ken Perlin</a>; Steven Worley (2003). <i>Texturing and modeling: a procedural approach, 3rd ed</i>. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1-55860-848-6. <a href="/facts/OCLC_(identifier)/Yqad8waq">OCLC</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/52689816">52689816</a>.</li> <li>Raghavachary, Saty (2005). <i>Rendering for Beginners: Image synthesis using RenderMan</i>. Burlington, MA: <a href="/facts/Focal_Press/pQEAhNVv">Focal Press</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-240-51935-3. <a href="/facts/OCLC_(identifier)/Yqad8waq">OCLC</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/57670361">57670361</a>.</li> <li>Stephenson, Ian (2002). <i>Essential RenderMan Fast</i>. London, New York: Springer. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 1-85233-608-0. <a href="/facts/OCLC_(identifier)/Yqad8waq">OCLC</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/50494960">50494960</a>.</li> <li>Upstill, Steve (1990). <a href="https://archive.org/details/rendermancompani00upst"><i>The RenderMan Companion: A Programmer's Guide to Realistic Computer Graphics</i></a>. Reading, Mass: <a href="/facts/Addison-Wesley/A7UFATEG">Addison-Wesley</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-201-50868-0. <a href="/facts/OCLC_(identifier)/Yqad8waq">OCLC</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/19741379">19741379</a>.</li> <li>Cortes, Rudy; Saty Raghavachary (2007). <i>The RenderMan Shading Language Guide</i>. Course Technology PTR. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-59863-286-6.</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Reyes_rendering/mNkPTBgD">Reyes rendering</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://renderman.pixar.com/view/rispec">Pixar’s RI Specs</a> — the official specs.</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20040327030245/http://www.renderman.org/">RenderMan Repository</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.fundza.com/">CG References & Tutorials</a> by Prof. Malcolm Kesson</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070320223326/http://accad.osu.edu/~smay/RManNotes/RManNotes.html">RenderMan Notes</a> (notes on shader writing)</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110721102813/http://www.vga.hr/resources/tutorials/3d/rsl/index.htm">RenderMan Shader Language</a> by Dominik Susmel</li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110809141400/http://www.smartcg.com/tech/cg/books/RfB/home/index.html">Rendering for Beginners</a> RIB files and shaders from the book</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"RenderMan - Developers Corner - RI Spec". Archived from the original on 2009-05-16. Retrieved 2009-06-12. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090516191715/http://renderman.pixar.com/products/rispec/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090516191715/http://renderman.pixar.com/products/rispec/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>