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Computer-generated imagery计算机图像生成技术Fabricating fabric虚拟面料How to generate more realistic images of clothes如何生成更逼真的衣物图像Aug 13th 2011 | from the print edition Velvet dreams天鹅绒的梦想 FILMS like “Captain America”, “Tron Legacy” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” have shown that it is possible to use computer-generated imagery (CGI) to make actors look younger, older or wimpier than they actually are, in a surprisingly realistic manner. At least, it is possible if those altered actors are kept at a suitable distance from the viewer. The difficulty of recreating the textures of both skin and fabric means the effect is less convincing when seen close up.电影《美国上尉》、《创战记》和《本杰明?巴顿奇事》表明计算机图像生成技术能以惊人的逼真手法使演员看上去比实际更年轻、老态或懦弱。这种效果至少在那些被改造过的演员与观众保持合适距离时能够实现。皮肤和面料纹理重建的困难在于它们被放大观看时，效果并不理想。The reason is that, whereas it is possible to simulate realistically the forces which make virtual skin and fabric hang, bend, flap and stretch, recreating the subtle ways they reflect light has so far proved extremely tricky. The shimmer and sheen of both fabric and skin depend on the geometry of their internal structures—the exact arrangement of threads or protein fibres. This is hard to model accurately. Steve Marschner and his colleagues at Cornell University have, though, come up with a way to get round that problem. Instead of modelling, they are copying. They are using computerised tomography (CT) to analyse the structures of fabrics at high resolution and then plugging the results into CGI. That, allied to the laws of optics and some heavy-duty computer power, seems to do the trick.原因在于尽管计算机能够真实地模拟使虚拟皮肤及面料产生悬挂、弯曲、飘动和拉伸的外力，但迄今为止想要找到构建反射光的精妙方法仍是极为困难的事情。皮肤和面料的微光及光泽都取决于它们内部的几何结构——织线或蛋白纤维的精确排列。这种模型很难精确地建立。不过康奈尔大学的史蒂夫?马施纳及其同事们发现了一个解决此问题的方法。他们不是建立模型而是采用拷贝技术。他们利用电脑断层扫描术（简称CT）以高分辨率分析面料的结构，然后将结果输入到计算机影像生成系统。结合光学定律和强大的计算机处理能力，这种方法似乎能够达到理想效果。Computerised tomography is most familiar as a medical technique for examining people’s insides. Like classical radiology it uses X-rays. But