Layered variance shadow maps

Shadow maps are commonly used in real-time rendering, but they cannot be filtered linearly like standard color, resulting in severe aliasing. Variance shadow maps resolve this problem by representing the depth distribution using moments, which can be linearly filtered. However, variance shadow maps suffer from "light bleeding" artifacts and require high-precision texture filtering hardware. We introduce layered variance shadow maps, which provide simultaneous solutions to both of these limitations. By partitioning the shadow map depth range into multiple layers, we eliminate all light bleeding between different layers. Using more layers increases the quality of the shadows at the expense of additional storage. Because each of these layers covers a reduced depth range, they can be stored in lower precision than would be required with typical variance shadow maps, enabling their use on a much wider range of graphics hardware. We also describe an iterative optimization algorith...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: GRAPHICSINTERFACE
• Authors: Andrew Lauritzen, Michael McCool
• Keywords: Computer Graphics, GRAPHICSINTERFACE 2008, Light Bleeding, Shadow Map, Variance Shadow Maps