Summary: NVIDIA researchers have made a groundbreaking demonstration of interactive texture painting with generative AI at SIGGRAPH Asia Real-Time Live. This technology allows artists to paint complex, non-repeating textures directly on 3D objects, leveraging AI as a brush in their creative process. This article explores the details of this innovative workflow and its potential to revolutionize 3D design.
Interactive Texture Painting with Generative AI
NVIDIA researchers took the stage at SIGGRAPH Asia Real-Time Live to showcase a remarkable integration of generative AI into an interactive texture painting workflow. This prototype enables artists to paint complex, non-repeating textures directly on the surface of 3D objects, marking a significant advancement in 3D design.
The Challenge of Traditional Texture Painting
Traditional texture painting often involves applying pre-made textures to 3D objects, which can result in repetitive patterns and lack of detail. Artists have long sought more control and flexibility in their texture painting workflows.
How AI Changes the Game
The NVIDIA prototype addresses these challenges by integrating AI into the texture painting process. Instead of generating complete results with only high-level user guidance, this AI functions as a brush in the hands of an artist. It enables the interactive addition of local details with infinite texture variations and realistic transitions.
Key Features of the Prototype
- Direct Control: Artists can directly control the placement, scale, and direction of textures by interactive painting.
- Infinite Variations: The AI generates infinite variations of the source texture, ensuring that no two patches are the same.
- Realistic Transitions: The AI provides realistic transitions between regions of different textures, without any reference of such transitions.
The Role of Inspiration Images
Inspiration images play a crucial role in this workflow. Unlike traditional methods where these images serve only as references, the NVIDIA prototype turns them into AI brushes that artists can use for painting in 3D. This process is conditioned on an example image of the target texture, following the proverb, “An image is worth a thousand words.”
Handling Lack of Inspiration Images
If there is no inspirational image available to seed the brush, text-to-image AI can be used to generate several versions. Artists can then pick the exact brush they would like to use, opening up a wide array of creative possibilities with direct artist control in the interactive loop.
Technical Underpinnings
Several NVIDIA technologies come together to enable this prototype:
- NVIDIA Omniverse: This modular development platform empowers developers to build complex 3D tools incorporating AI.
- Tensor Cores: Accelerated inference on Tensor Cores in NVIDIA GPUs achieves an inference speed of 0.23-0.15s per brush stamp.
- NVIDIA Warp Library: Efficient raycasting and dynamic texture support allow AI to deliver fast updates directly to the rendered object.
- NVIDIA Kaolin Library: This library for 3D deep learning enables efficient offscreen rasterization and texture back-projection directly on the GPU.
Real-World Applications
This technology has numerous applications in 3D design and beyond. For example, it can be used for rapid 3D concept design, prototyping fantasy environments, and even creating realistic photogrammetry using forest textures sampled from photos captured in the wild.
Table: Key Features and Technologies
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Direct Control | Artists can directly control the placement, scale, and direction of textures by interactive painting. |
| Infinite Variations | The AI generates infinite variations of the source texture, ensuring that no two patches are the same. |
| Realistic Transitions | The AI provides realistic transitions between regions of different textures, without any reference of such transitions. |
| NVIDIA Omniverse | Modular development platform for building complex 3D tools incorporating AI. |
| Tensor Cores | Accelerated inference on Tensor Cores in NVIDIA GPUs achieves an inference speed of 0.23-0.15s per brush stamp. |
| NVIDIA Warp Library | Efficient raycasting and dynamic texture support allow AI to deliver fast updates directly to the rendered object. |
| NVIDIA Kaolin Library | Library for 3D deep learning enabling efficient offscreen rasterization and texture back-projection directly on the GPU. |
Table: Real-World Applications
| Application | Description |
|---|---|
| Rapid 3D Concept Design | Quick prototyping of 3D environments and objects. |
| Fantasy Environment Prototyping | Creating detailed fantasy environments with realistic textures. |
| Realistic Photogrammetry | Using forest textures sampled from photos captured in the wild to create realistic environments. |
| Fabric Print Design | Developing bold fabric prints using AI-generated textures. |
| Toy Design | Creating detailed 3D toys with realistic textures sourced from physical toys. |
Conclusion
The integration of generative AI into interactive texture painting represents a significant leap forward in 3D design. By giving artists more control and flexibility, this technology has the potential to revolutionize the field. As demonstrated by NVIDIA researchers at SIGGRAPH Asia Real-Time Live, the future of 3D design is more interactive, more creative, and more AI-driven than ever before.