Bivolino Shirt Rendering

Bivolino has developed a new shirt configurator, with realistic visuals created with image based rendering.

During the development of the configurator, a new way of presenting shirt models was proposed. A template shirt would serve as the base model for the rendering operation. In cooperation with EDM's PhD student Cedric Vanaken, we developed a method for digitizing the shirt parts and textures. The method was tested and executed, and digital images were rendered and delivered to Bivolino's development team.

Process

The project was done as part of my bachelor's internship. Bivolino has its own configurator, which allows a user to design his or her own shirt. I worked on several projects during my internship, of which the fabric rendering was one.

Fabrics rendering & color management

When I started the project, I had to work my way into the project, by understanding the development process and the requirements. 2D textures were transferred onto 3D models of shirts. These 2D textures needed to be extracted and delivered to the developer. I received physical samples of all the possible shirt textures Bivolino offers in their configurator, and was responsible for digitizing these textures. To digitize these textures, I required a setup with good calibration. I was in charge of optimizing the digitization process, by calibrating all the devices, and designing a proper workflow. I procured 2 calibration tools, and a so-called desktop viewer.

The desktop viewer was required to create an optimal environment for the texture photography. Previous tests with scanning, conducted in Tunisia, didn’t deliver the desired results, so a photography setup was chosen. The pictures needed to comply as much as possible in terms of size and color. Therefore I calibrated the workstations and monitor, allowing myself and future designers to work with a realistic preview, and correct the digital files where needed. The camera and monitor calibration settings were stored for future reference.

After capturing of the digital assets, these had to be processed to comply with the requirements from the IBR algorithm’s developer. It was key that the textures would provide seamless tiling.

Fabrics rendering

The above mentioned work was all in preparation of the final rendering process. The digital textures were needed for the rendering. Before the actual rendering process started, I had to fine tune this process together with Cedric Vanaken. He was the person responsible for the rendering; I was responsible for delivering the input files for the rendering algorithm.

Next to the preparation of the fabric textures, I was also responsible for digitizing the shirt models, on which the textures were rendered. I did this process in parallel with my other tasks, as the rendering algorithm needed optimizing. I investigated the technology, to help me decide how to digitize the shirt models. Knowing how the rendering algorithms process the inputs proved to be valuable in my decision making process.

Image Based Rendering

Image Based Rendering is an imaging technique that simulates 3D. It is also being referred to as 2.5D, indicating that all the inputs are 2D assets, but the end result is a 3D visualization. In the case of the Image Based Rendering technique used by the Hasselt University, a base 3D model is required as input.

The base 3D model needs a dotted pattern, which helps the algorithm determine shape, shadows and depth of the actual model, and transfer these properties to the applied fabric texture.

Another issue was that the end results would be implemented in configurator software, which allows users to customize their shirt. This means that some parts of the shirt can be changed independently. This had to be taken into account when preparing the physical assets. Therefore I segmented a shirt, to identify the customizable parts, like cuffs, collars and pockets. These would then be fabricated separately with the special pattern fabric applied.

When the assets were ready, I could initiate the capturing process. This was done at the Computer Graphics department at the Expertise center for Digital Media (EDM) in Hasselt. I made a triangular photography setup, so we would have images from the front, back, and side.

The digital assets were delivered to the EDM’s Cedric Vanaken, who processed the images and delivered these to Bivolino’s software developer. The images are still being used in the website and BivolinoServices, the commercial software, from Bivolino. I documented the process and guidelines, and delivered this to the company for future reference.