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TOMMY 3D FREAK

03-04-2003, 12:56 PM

Hello,

I wanted to ask you a question regarding translucency and subsurface scattering. I've been trying to think of the difference between those to phenomena, but I don't know the difference. So my question for you is: what is the fundamental difference between translucency and subsurface scattering?

thanks in advance....

I
O
U

MFreywald

03-04-2003, 01:24 PM

Hmm..I've kinda wondered that myself. Personally and I may be all wrong in thinking this way but.. I consider translucency like a Jolly Rancher candy or jello. Subsurface scattering I think of as like skin or wax. But I could be wrong in seperating them and they're really the same just depends on the transparency. Can someone clear this up for us?

TimWoods

03-04-2003, 01:34 PM

sub surface scattering replicates the light being trapped in a thin layer then bounced around the surface. Like the epidermis of the skin.
translucency is slightly different but i think they both work in tandum. difficult to explain.
blevins does a good explaination
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/translucency/translucency.htm

tim
:beer:

LFShade

03-04-2003, 04:41 PM

They're actually two sides to the same story, if I'm not mistaken. Translucency is the property or quality of a material that allows light to penetrate through its surface. Many materials are translucent, and in many varying degrees. Subsurface scattering describes the lighting phenomenon that occurs in translucent materials as the light is reflected and refracted around under the surface according to the material's translucent qualities.

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