Reaction-diffusion textures

Abstract

We present a method for texture synthesisbased on the simulation of a process of local nonlinear interaction, called reaction-diffusion, which has been proposed as a model of biological pattern formation. We extend traditional reaction-diffusion systems by allowing anisotropic and spatially non-uniform diffusion, as well as multiple competing directions of diffusion. We adapt reaction-diffusion systems to the needs of computer graphics by presenting a method to synthesize patterns which compensate for the effects of non-uniform surface parameterization. Finally, we develop efficient algorithms for simulating reactiondiffusion systems and display a collection of resulting textures using standard texture- and displacement-mapping techniques. 1 Introduction Texture mapping techniques have become so highly developed and so widely used that textureless images tend to appear barren, unrealistic, and boring. To date, though, techniques for synthesizing natural textures have advanced far les...