Generating soft object shadows for general shadow receivers within digital images using geometry-aware buffer channels

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12374034-B2
Application number	US-202318168995-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 14, 2023
Priority date	Feb 14, 2023
Publication date	Jul 29, 2025
Grant date	Jul 29, 2025

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable media that generates object shadows for digital images utilizing corresponding geometry-aware buffer channels. For instance, in one or more embodiments, the disclosed systems generate, utilizing a height prediction neural network, an object height map for a digital object portrayed in a digital image and a background height map for a background portrayed in the digital image. The disclosed systems also generate, from the digital image, a plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels using the object height map and the background height map. Further, the disclosed systems modify the digital image to include a soft object shadow for the digital object using the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
generating, utilizing a height prediction neural network, an object height map for a digital object portrayed in a digital image and a background height map for a background portrayed in the digital image,
wherein the object height map includes pixel heights that indicate vertical distances of pixels associated with the digital object from a ground surface of the digital image within a two-dimensional coordinate scheme of the digital image; and
wherein the background height map includes additional pixel heights that indicate additional vertical distances of pixels associated with the background from the ground surface within the two-dimensional coordinate scheme;

generating, from the digital image, a plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels using the pixel heights included in the object height map and the additional pixel heights included in the background height map; and
modifying the digital image to include a soft object shadow for the digital object using the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating, from the digital image, the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels using the pixel heights included in the object height map and the additional pixel heights included in the background height map comprises generating a first geometry-aware buffer channel that includes a first gradient of the additional pixel heights included in the background height map in a first direction.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein generating, from the digital image, the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels using the pixel heights included in the object height map and the additional pixel heights included in the background height map comprises generating a second geometry-aware buffer channel that includes a second gradient of the additional pixel heights included in the background height map in a second direction.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating, from the digital image, the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels using the pixel heights included in the object height map and the additional pixel heights included in the background height map comprises generating a geometry-aware buffer channel that includes relative distances for pixels of the background and corresponding pixels of the digital object utilizing the additional pixel heights included in the object height map.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying the digital image to include the soft object shadow for the digital object using the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels comprises modifying the digital image utilizing a shadow stylization neural network to include the soft object shadow for the digital object based on the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels.

6. The method of claim 1 ,
further comprising determining a softness value for the soft object shadow,
wherein modifying the digital image to include the soft object shadow for the digital object using the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels comprises modifying the digital image to include the soft object shadow for the digital object using the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels and the softness value.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating, from the digital image, the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels comprises generating, from the digital image, one or more geometry-aware buffer channels using at least one of a position of a light source associated with the digital image or a horizon associated with the digital image.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating, from the digital image, the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels using the pixel heights included in the object height map and the additional pixel heights included in the background height map comprises generating, from the digital image, a geometry-aware buffer channel that includes sparse hard object shadows cast by the digital object in accordance with an area light source associated with digital image.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions, which when executed by a processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations comprising:
determining, utilizing a height prediction neural network, an object height map for a digital object portrayed in a digital image and a background height map for a background portrayed in the digital image,
wherein the object height map includes pixel heights that indicate vertical distances of pixels associated with the digital object from a ground surface of the digital image within a two-dimensional coordinate scheme of the digital image; and
wherein the background height map includes additional pixel heights that indicate additional vertical distances of pixels associated with the background from the ground surface within the two-dimensional coordinate scheme;

determining, from the digital image, a plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels using pixel heights included in the object height map and the additional pixel heights included in the background height map; and
modifying the digital image to include a soft object shadow for the digital object using the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein determining, from the digital image, the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels using the pixel heights included in the object height map and the additional pixel heights included in the background height map comprises generating a geometry-aware buffer channel that includes relative pixel height differences for pixels of the background and corresponding pixels of the digital object utilizing the pixel heights included in the object height map and the additional pixel heights included in the background height map.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein determining the geometry-aware buffer channel that includes the relative pixel height differences for the pixels of the background and the corresponding pixels of the digital object utilizing the pixel heights included in the object height map and the additional pixel heights included in the background height map comprises:
determining a first pixel height for a pixel of the background using the additional pixel heights included in the background height map;
determining a second pixel height for a pixel of the digital object that corresponds to the pixel of the background using the pixel heights included in the object height map; and
determining a height difference between the first pixel height and the second pixel height.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the operations further comprise determining the pixel of the digital object that corresponds to the pixel of the background by determining that the pixel of the digital object is blocking light from reaching the pixel of the background.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein:
determining, from the digital image, a plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels using the pixel heights included in the object height map and the additional pixel heights included in the background height map comprises generating a geometry-aware buffer channel that includes a hard object shadow for the digital object using the pixel heights included in the object height map and the additional pixel heights included in the background height map; and
modifying the digital image to include the soft object shadow for the digital object using the plurality of geometry-aware buffer channels comprises modifying the hard object shadow of the geometry-aware buffer channel to generate the so

Assignees

• Adobe Inc

Inventors

• Zhang Jianming
• Sheng Yichen
• Philip Julien
• Hold-Geoffroy Yannick
• Sun Xin
• Zhang He

Classifications

• G06V10/60 Primary

  relating to illumination properties, e.g. using a reflectance or lighting model · CPC title

• G06V10/761

  Proximity, similarity or dissimilarity measures · CPC title

• G06V10/82

  using neural networks · CPC title

• G06T7/60

  Analysis of geometric attributes · CPC title

• G06T15/60 Primary

  Shadow generation · CPC title