A Practical and Hierarchical Yarn-based Shading Model for Cloth

Realistic cloth rendering is a longstanding challenge in computer graphics due to the intricate geometry and hierarchical structure of cloth: Fibers form plies which in turn are combined into yarns which then are woven or knitted into fabrics. Previous fiber-based models have achieved high-quality close-up rendering, but they suffer from high computational cost, which limits their practicality. In this paper, we propose a novel hierarchical model that analytically aggregates light simulation on the fiber level by building on dual-scattering theory. Based on this, we can perform an efficient simulation of ply and yarn shading. Compared to previous methods, our approach is faster and uses less memory while preserving a similar accuracy. We demonstrate both through comparison with existing fiber-based shading models. Our yarn shading model can be applied to curves or surfaces, making it highly versatile for cloth shading. This duality paired with its simplicity and flexibility makes the model particularly useful for film and games production.