Non Photorealistic Rendering Techniques

Non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) techniques are essentially methods utilised throughout an art creation process as a means of creating a specific style that is not connected to the photorealistic style.

These non-photorealistic rendering techniques rely on the concepts as well as principles found within traditional illustrations, graphic design, and art. There are numerous differences between convolutional and recurrent neural networks, and as such, there are numerous non-photorealistic rendering techniques used in today’s industry. By understanding the basics of non-photorealistic rendering, you are one step closer to using them with ease. 

Today, many tools and solutions which have been created as a means of streamlining the creation process are available, and many of these are reliant on machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI). One such tool is NightCafe Creator, through which you can turn any photo into a painting.

What You Need to Know

NPR focuses on using computer graphics as a means of creating art inspired by paintings, cartoons, drawings, or anything else that does not resemble photorealism. This style typically stands out due to its use of the cel-shaded or "toon" method of creation.

Categories of Non-Photorealistic Techniques

There are numerous different categories available within this field of creation. These include pen and ink illustrations, painterly rendering, cartoon rendering, technical illustrations, and scientific rendering.

Rendering Techniques

There is a wide array of rendering techniques frequently used, but the most basic ones that need to be taken into consideration by beginners are hatching, cross-hatching, scribbling, and stippling. Principles to consider when rendering include the location of the light source, highlights, core shadows, halftones, and reflected light.

Features of Rendering

A rendered image can be seen from the perspective of a number of visible features. Typically, rendering will utilise shading, texture-mapping, bump-mapping, fogging or participating mediums, shadows, soft shadows, reflection, transparency and opacity, translucency, refraction, diffraction, indirect illumination, caustics, depth of field, and motion-blur. 

Artistic Rendering

Artistic rendering is a style of rendering that puts an emphasis on an interpretative rendering style. Within the field of computer graphics, these interpretive styles are known as non-photorealistic rendering styles, and they are often used to simplify technical illustrations. They are also used as a means of accentuating visually important edges of 3D models and effectively communicating their overall shape.

In Summary

Non-photorealistic rendering techniques rely on the concepts and the principles found in traditional illustration and graphic design, but their application is varied and expansive. Of course, tools such as NightCafe can help make the process of creating non-photorealistic images–and any other kind of AI-created art–a breeze.