Conventional visualization techniques tend to employ photo-realistic and physically-motivated approaches to the presentation of simulation data. While such approaches yield accurate visualizations, the generated data representations are often difficult to interpret – especially with the increasing scope and complexity of simulations. For example, dense vector or stream surface plots can overwhelm an observer with data, and incorporated depth information may be lost in the ultimate projection to 2D images. The field of illustrative visualization has developed as a response to the challenge of presenting complex simulation data, and adapts techniques originally developed for scientific illustration. In this approach, the objective is to employ compact and intuitive representations to convey key details of simulations qualitatively. In this investigation, MarmotViz, a generalized framework for illustrative visualization, has been developed and implemented as a ParaView plugin, enabling its use on variety of computing platforms with various data file formats and mesh geometries. MarmotViz incorporates a number of prominent algorithms and techniques found in the literature, and its flexible architecture supports the rapid implementation of new illustrative visualization functionality.
MarmotViz enables application of a number of illustrative visualization effects, including:
- Feature coloring and selective visibility – Features are colored by feature number and can be selectively hidden
- Feature smoothing – Smooth bounding surfaces are generated for features to improve aesthetics and accelerate rendering
- Tube outlines – Tube contours are generated around the silhouettes of features to clarify boundaries and highlight features of interest
- Feature halos – Ribbon-like halos are generated around the silhouettes of features to provide additional depth cues to the observer
- Speedlines – Strokes are rendered on the trailing side of features to indicate the local direction of motion
- Strobe silhouettes – Multiple instances of the trailing silhouette of a feature are rendered to indicate the path of motion
Related publications
- Guillen, D.P., Rattner, A.S., Joshi, A., Garimella, S., 2013. Extensible framework for illustrative visualization of time-varying flows. ANS Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA. Link.
This research was generously supported by the Krell Institute and the DOE Idaho Operations Office.