3d Renderer

This project is licensed under the MIT LICENSE.

Quick start

Setup

First, clone the latest source code from github.

git clone --recursive https://github.com/justin-himself/3d-renderer.git

You only need to have numpy and matplotlib installed to run the program, but it is recommanded to install opencv, joblib and joblib-progress to achieve best performance. You will also need to install ffmpeg if you want the output to be any format other than .gif, though it's entirely optional.

Simply execute the following command to install all requirements.

pip install -r requirements.txt

It is possible to run the program in Spyder but interactive preview, multicore rendering and custom output format are NOT supported, it's hugely recommended that you run the program directly in the console.

Render a Toilet

To render a spinning toilet, use

python3 main.py models/toilet_1451.obj output

A window will pop up so you can adjust the object's positon to the center. Press enter when you are satisfied and the render will start.

Warning: Move the object too far into the screen or out of the edges will result in slow down, graphics glitchs and crashes.

The result will be saved as output.gif

Running on Spyder

Warning: Spyder lacks interactive feature and does not come with some optional dependencies. Most options are disabled if the progran detects spyder environment and the performance will be heavily degraded.

Open main.py .
Click run.
In the console, input according to the instructions. It's recommended that you stck to the defaults.
Wait patiently. Locate the output gif after it finishes.

Models & Rendering

Currently the program only supports rendering low poly wavefront (obj) files. The components must be joined together.

To genenerate such models, follow steps below

Download the model from internet
Import it into blender
Select all parts and rightclick, click "join"
Resize and align the model to center of all axis
(Optional) Add a "Decimate" modifier if your model have too much polygons
Export as wavefront file and in the pop up menu, deselect every option (eg. normals) except for "Apply modifiers"

This project uses multiprocessor cpu rendering. If you have a NVIDIA GPU, you can also download Cupy and replace import numpy to import cupy, which should give a decent performance boost. I was not able to test this out since I use an Apple Silicon Mac to develop the project.

Demo

For other demos, including a car and a spinning toilet, go to
https://github.com/justin-himself/3d-renderer/tree/main/demo