CHAPTER 1 - Introduction

Abstract

Skin is one of the most complex organs in the human body and has been an object of extensive study in life and physical sciences. Among the different environmental stimuli that can affect the appearance of human skin, light triggers the most commonly observed responses. The simulation of these responses from a computer graphics point of view, i.e., an emphasis is given to the modeling of skin appearance for realistic image synthesis purposes, has been examined here. Skin images generated using computer graphics techniques can be loosely classified as believable or predictable. Believable images result from biophysically inspired simulations. For decades, scientists from different fields have been studying the photobiological processes associated to skin appearance. As a result, a large amount of relevant knowledge and data are scattered through various scientific domains. This information is organized in a concise and consistent manner in this book. The objective is to make it readily accessible by researchers, students, and practitioners interested in the simulation of these phenomena regardless of their original field of expertise. Ultimately, this book aims to foster the cross-fertilization and synergistic collaboration among different scientific communities working on the same problem, namely the simulation of light and skin interactions.