Using Maya® to Create a Virtual Museum

Access to museum artifacts has greatly expanded through virtual museums. There are several approaches to creating this experience. One is to collect many images from many viewpoints of both the artwork and environment. The second is to use computer graphics (CG) to create a virtual space, in which are placed artwork, defined by their shape, color, macrostructure, and microstructure. The second approach was tested using the CG software, Maya (R) with the mental ray plug-in. Physical measurements of the artwork's shape, diffuse color, and macrostructure via surface normal were measured using equipment common to an imaging studio: a digital camera and strobes. Microstructure was defined within the CG software. This approach was tested on a painting in the style of Vincent van Gogh. The painting was rendered in a variety of ways: photo realistically, with a picture varnish applied, and as a colored metal. Lighting was either a typical studio set up or raking light. Details are given to produce such renderings using studio equipment and Maya (R) for virtual gallery applications.