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openRender

License Language Standard

openRender is a photorealistic renderer that uses a Pixar's RenderMan-like interface. Originally based on Pixie by Okan Arikan, this project continues to evolve as an open-source rendering solution.

Table of Contents

About

openRender is a sophisticated photorealistic renderer that implements a RenderMan-compliant interface. It is designed to be compatible with RenderMan Interface Bytestream (RIB) files and supports a wide range of rendering techniques including ray tracing, Reyes-style rendering, and advanced shading.

Features

  • RenderMan-compliant interface supporting RIB files
  • Advanced shading language support
  • Multiple rendering backends (Reyes, ray tracing)
  • Support for various image formats (TIFF, PNG, Radiance RGBE)
  • Multi-threaded rendering
  • Network rendering capabilities
  • Procedural geometry support
  • Extensive texture mapping options
  • OpenEXR support for high dynamic range output

Installation

Prerequisites

  • C++20 compliant compiler (GCC 10+, Clang 10+, or MSVC 2019+)
  • CMake 3.15 or higher
  • Git

Dependencies

Building

Unix/Linux/macOS

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/juvenal/openrender.git
cd openrender

# Create build directory
mkdir build && cd build

# Configure with CMake
cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

# Compile (using multiple cores)
make -j$(nproc || sysctl -n hw.ncpu)

# Optionally install
sudo make install

Windows

Using Visual Studio or similar IDE:

  1. Open CMake GUI or use command line
  2. Set source directory to openrender root
  3. Set build directory (e.g., openrender/build)
  4. Click "Configure" and select your generator (Visual Studio, Ninja, etc.)
  5. Click "Generate"
  6. Build using your IDE or run cmake --build . --config Release

Alternatively, using command line:

mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -G "Visual Studio 16 2019" -A x64
cmake --build . --config Release

CMake Options

  • USE_FLEX_BISON: Use flex and bison to regenerate parsers (default: ON)
  • BUILD_SHOW: Build the show program (default: ON)
  • INSTALL_SELFCONTAINED: Build for a self-contained setup (default: ON)

Usage

Basic Rendering

# Render a RIB file
./build/src/orender scene.rib

# Render with multiple threads
./build/src/orender -t:4 scene.rib

# Render specific frame range
./build/src/orender -f 1:10 scene.rib

Network Rendering

# Start a render server
./build/src/orender -r

# Render on network servers
./build/src/orender -s server1:port1,server2:port2 scene.rib

Project Structure

├── CMake/                 # CMake modules
├── doc/                  # Documentation
├── docs/                 # Additional documentation
├── examples/             # Example scenes
├── geometry/             # Geometry examples
├── man/                  # Manual pages
├── shaders/              # Default shaders
├── specs/                # Specification documents
├── src/                  # Source code
│   ├── common/           # Common utilities
│   ├── dsotest/          # DSO test utilities
│   ├── file/             # File I/O operations
│   ├── framebuffer/      # Framebuffer implementations
│   ├── gui/              # GUI components
│   ├── openexr/          # OpenEXR support
│   ├── orender/          # Main renderer executable
│   ├── oshader/          # Shader compiler
│   ├── oshow/            # Interactive viewer
│   ├── otexmake/         # Texture processing tools
│   ├── precomp/          # Precomputation tools
│   ├── rgbe/             # Radiance RGBE support
│   ├── ri/               # RenderMan interface implementation
│   ├── sdr/              # Shader runtime
│   ├── sdrinfo/          # Shader info utility
│   └── ...
├── tests/                # Unit tests
├── textures/             # Sample textures
├── CMakeLists.txt        # Main CMake build file
├── COMPILING.txt         # Compilation instructions
├── README.md             # This file
├── LICENSE.md            # License (LGPL-2.1)
├── COPYING.md            # License pointer
├── AUTHORS.md            # Contributors
├── ChangeLog.md          # Changelog
├── DEVNOTES.md           # Developer notes
├── INSTALL.md            # Install instructions
├── NEWS.md               # Release news
└── ...

Contributing

We welcome contributions to openRender! Please feel free to submit pull requests, create issues for bugs and feature requests, or contribute to documentation.

Development Guidelines

  • Follow C++20 standards
  • Maintain compatibility with existing RIB files
  • Write unit tests for new functionality
  • Update documentation as needed

License

openRender is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License v2.1 (LGPL-2.1). See LICENSE.md for the full text; COPYING.md points to the same.

Authors

Current Maintainer

Original Creator

  • Okan Arikan - Original Pixie renderer

Historical Contributors

The original Pixie project contributors include:

  • Okan Arikan (Head developer)
  • George Harker
  • Gary Oliver & Kirk Bailey
  • Bruce Walter
  • Moritz Moeller
  • Jordan Smith
  • Mayur Patel
  • Ashton Edwin-Kent
  • Eliot Mack
  • Raphael Sebbe

For a complete list of contributors, see AUTHORS.md.

openRender continues the legacy of the original Pixie renderer, extending its capabilities while maintaining compatibility with the RenderMan interface.