Recursive Ray Tracing
A rendering method that follows light rays as they bounce between surfaces, producing mirror reflections and glass refraction. Turner Whitted described it in 1980, and it gave early CGI its gleaming chrome spheres and checkerboard floors.
Spot it
- 01Mirror-sharp reflections
- 02Refracting glass spheres
- 03Crisp hard-edged shadows
Why it happens
Rays from the camera spawn secondary rays for reflection, refraction and shadows at each hit, recursing until the remaining light contribution is negligible.
Recreate it in Pixio
Image edit prompt“Re-render this scene as an early recursive ray-traced image: perfectly polished chrome and glass surfaces with sharp mirror reflections of the surroundings, refracted views through transparent objects, razor-sharp hard shadows, a glossy checkerboard floor and clean, smooth gradients with no film grain. Keep the original subject and composition.”
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