visualization map
 
 
 

A 3-dimensional visualization of a photon map or final gather map.

Visualization maps are useful to see the distribution of photons (and their energies) or to see final gather points (with stored irradiance). This feedback can help you diagnose possibly unexpected global illumination effects so that you can tune your scene more efficiently to get the desired look.

Generated photon or final gather visualization maps appear in either shaded view (where photons and final gather points are displayed as colored points, the color representing the irradiance estimate) or wireframe view (where normals and directions are shown).