Brian Karis
@briankaris.bsky.social
Engineering Fellow at Epic Games. Author of Nanite.
Reposted by Brian Karis
i had a chat with lukasz and @antovsky about gamedev and stuff, if youre into that sort of thing! the middle hour is the juiciest but its all fantastic, ofc ;) youtu.be/mFBmoCv5EcQ?...
Game Architectures with Alex Evans and Anton Mikhailov
YouTube video by Wookash Podcast
youtu.be
November 1, 2025 at 7:06 PM
i had a chat with lukasz and @antovsky about gamedev and stuff, if youre into that sort of thing! the middle hour is the juiciest but its all fantastic, ofc ;) youtu.be/mFBmoCv5EcQ?...
@leepetty.bsky.social @p1xelcoder.bsky.social @ianmcque.bsky.social Keeper is an artistic and technical masterpiece! Bravo! Utterly unique in every way. Gobsmacked.
Never would I have guessed that a Doublefine game would rise to the top of my list as a showcase of #ue5 tech.
Never would I have guessed that a Doublefine game would rise to the top of my list as a showcase of #ue5 tech.
October 26, 2025 at 2:59 AM
@leepetty.bsky.social @p1xelcoder.bsky.social @ianmcque.bsky.social Keeper is an artistic and technical masterpiece! Bravo! Utterly unique in every way. Gobsmacked.
Never would I have guessed that a Doublefine game would rise to the top of my list as a showcase of #ue5 tech.
Never would I have guessed that a Doublefine game would rise to the top of my list as a showcase of #ue5 tech.
Reposted by Brian Karis
Here's a recording of my talk on the role of computers in making art, including so-called "AI", which was presented as the opening keynote of SIGGRAPH 2025, incorporating lessons from the history of computer graphics, photography, modern art, and philosophy of art. www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2YR... 1/
Can Computers Create Art? Lessons from art history
YouTube video by Aaron Hertzmann
www.youtube.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Here's a recording of my talk on the role of computers in making art, including so-called "AI", which was presented as the opening keynote of SIGGRAPH 2025, incorporating lessons from the history of computer graphics, photography, modern art, and philosophy of art. www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2YR... 1/
Reposted by Brian Karis
New blog post: Outlining an alternative path to learn graphics programming.
themaister.net/blog/2025/10...
themaister.net/blog/2025/10...
A case for learning GPU programming with a compute-first mindset – Maister's Graphics Adventures
themaister.net
October 5, 2025 at 12:58 PM
New blog post: Outlining an alternative path to learn graphics programming.
themaister.net/blog/2025/10...
themaister.net/blog/2025/10...
Reposted by Brian Karis
New blog post! In "Billions of triangles in minutes" we'll walk through hierarchical cluster level of detail generation of, well, billions of triangles in minutes. Reposts welcome!
zeux.io/2025/09/30/b...
zeux.io/2025/09/30/b...
September 30, 2025 at 5:40 PM
New blog post! In "Billions of triangles in minutes" we'll walk through hierarchical cluster level of detail generation of, well, billions of triangles in minutes. Reposts welcome!
zeux.io/2025/09/30/b...
zeux.io/2025/09/30/b...
Reposted by Brian Karis
The new Nanite Foliage Voxel representation is an absolute game changer for distant environments, density preservation is pretty much perfect.
5 min test scene i whipped up here.
~1 million 20 million poly trees scattered with PCG
#UE5 #UnrealEngine #GameDev #EnvironmentArt #RealTime
5 min test scene i whipped up here.
~1 million 20 million poly trees scattered with PCG
#UE5 #UnrealEngine #GameDev #EnvironmentArt #RealTime
July 24, 2025 at 9:01 AM
The new Nanite Foliage Voxel representation is an absolute game changer for distant environments, density preservation is pretty much perfect.
5 min test scene i whipped up here.
~1 million 20 million poly trees scattered with PCG
#UE5 #UnrealEngine #GameDev #EnvironmentArt #RealTime
5 min test scene i whipped up here.
~1 million 20 million poly trees scattered with PCG
#UE5 #UnrealEngine #GameDev #EnvironmentArt #RealTime
Reposted by Brian Karis
My talk is out! c0de517e.com/023_hpg.htm
Hallucinations on the future of real-time rendering.
Angelo Pesce's homepage & blog on computers, graphics and other things.
c0de517e.com
July 14, 2025 at 6:36 PM
My talk is out! c0de517e.com/023_hpg.htm
Reposted by Brian Karis
All HPG 2025 papers are now available on the EG digital library.
CGF papers: diglib.eg.org/handle/10.23...
Conference papers: diglib.eg.org/handle/10.23...
It has been a huge honor to act as HPG papers chair and guest editor and I look forward to an exciting program in Copenhagen.
CGF papers: diglib.eg.org/handle/10.23...
Conference papers: diglib.eg.org/handle/10.23...
It has been a huge honor to act as HPG papers chair and guest editor and I look forward to an exciting program in Copenhagen.
44-Issue 8
High-Performance Graphics 2025
diglib.eg.org
June 21, 2025 at 8:13 AM
All HPG 2025 papers are now available on the EG digital library.
CGF papers: diglib.eg.org/handle/10.23...
Conference papers: diglib.eg.org/handle/10.23...
It has been a huge honor to act as HPG papers chair and guest editor and I look forward to an exciting program in Copenhagen.
CGF papers: diglib.eg.org/handle/10.23...
Conference papers: diglib.eg.org/handle/10.23...
It has been a huge honor to act as HPG papers chair and guest editor and I look forward to an exciting program in Copenhagen.
Reposted by Brian Karis
I signed and encourage colleagues to do the same.
Venue selection is fraught. Inevitably attendees will encounter visa issues, distance, expense, local politics, and other challenges. This venue, however, is simply unsafe for LGBTQ+ researchers, and the leadership's defensiveness is unacceptable.
Venue selection is fraught. Inevitably attendees will encounter visa issues, distance, expense, local politics, and other challenges. This venue, however, is simply unsafe for LGBTQ+ researchers, and the leadership's defensiveness is unacceptable.
Computer Graphics as a field avoids gatekeeping. Practitioners come from many disciplines, origins and beliefs.
SIGGRAPH has historically carried this practice.
I am thus outraged at the decision to hold SIGGRAPH Asia 26’ at a venue unsafe to many.
Adding my signature. I encourage you to do too:
SIGGRAPH has historically carried this practice.
I am thus outraged at the decision to hold SIGGRAPH Asia 26’ at a venue unsafe to many.
Adding my signature. I encourage you to do too:
Open Letter to the SIGGRAPH Leadership
RE: Call for SIGGRAPH Asia to relocate from Malaysia and commit to a venue selection process that safeguards LGBTQ+ and other at-risk communities. To the SIGGRAPH Leadership: SIGGRAPH Executive Commit...
docs.google.com
June 18, 2025 at 8:47 PM
I signed and encourage colleagues to do the same.
Venue selection is fraught. Inevitably attendees will encounter visa issues, distance, expense, local politics, and other challenges. This venue, however, is simply unsafe for LGBTQ+ researchers, and the leadership's defensiveness is unacceptable.
Venue selection is fraught. Inevitably attendees will encounter visa issues, distance, expense, local politics, and other challenges. This venue, however, is simply unsafe for LGBTQ+ researchers, and the leadership's defensiveness is unacceptable.
Reposted by Brian Karis
This is a great thread @hillsguy.bsky.social, I'll add a bit more context here for anyone interested.
Yes there's no fancy sim - it just uses a water interaction buffer as a target for the particle system rendering, so we could use the power of particle system we already have.
Yes there's no fancy sim - it just uses a water interaction buffer as a target for the particle system rendering, so we could use the power of particle system we already have.
Decided to check out how water is rendered in Counter-Strike 2.
Given how interactive water in CS2 is, I expected to see some cellular fluid simulation, but turns out they just use a low-resolution off-screen buffer with flat 2D decals used for various aspects of water. Reminds me of HL2 water :)
Given how interactive water in CS2 is, I expected to see some cellular fluid simulation, but turns out they just use a low-resolution off-screen buffer with flat 2D decals used for various aspects of water. Reminds me of HL2 water :)
June 13, 2025 at 9:06 PM
This is a great thread @hillsguy.bsky.social, I'll add a bit more context here for anyone interested.
Yes there's no fancy sim - it just uses a water interaction buffer as a target for the particle system rendering, so we could use the power of particle system we already have.
Yes there's no fancy sim - it just uses a water interaction buffer as a target for the particle system rendering, so we could use the power of particle system we already have.
Reposted by Brian Karis
The SIGGRAPH Physically Based Shading course is back this year: blog.selfshadow.com/publications...
SIGGRAPH 2025 Course: Physically Based Shading in Theory and Practice
blog.selfshadow.com
June 10, 2025 at 3:19 PM
The SIGGRAPH Physically Based Shading course is back this year: blog.selfshadow.com/publications...
More rendering tech details on how the Witcher 4 UE5 demo works youtu.be/0X6amtHcrUE?...
Livestream 2, Day 2 | Unreal Fest 2025
YouTube video by Unreal Engine
youtu.be
June 4, 2025 at 10:39 PM
More rendering tech details on how the Witcher 4 UE5 demo works youtu.be/0X6amtHcrUE?...
Great video from DF!
Really good explanation from @dachsjaeger.bsky.social about how foliage has been done in the past, the problems with them, and why this new approach was needed.
Really good explanation from @dachsjaeger.bsky.social about how foliage has been done in the past, the problems with them, and why this new approach was needed.
The Witcher 4 tech demo running on Unreal Engine 5 - 60fps on the standard PlayStation 5. Alex and I share some initial thoughts: youtu.be/5PIyPpB83Vw
June 4, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Great video from DF!
Really good explanation from @dachsjaeger.bsky.social about how foliage has been done in the past, the problems with them, and why this new approach was needed.
Really good explanation from @dachsjaeger.bsky.social about how foliage has been done in the past, the problems with them, and why this new approach was needed.
Reposted by Brian Karis
The new Witcher 4 UE5.6 tech demo that was shown today is the most amazing realtime tech demo I've seen yet. Nanite Foliage is particularly impressive- I've always liked the idea of voxel-based LOD and this is the best implementation I've ever seen!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aorR...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aorR...
The Witcher 4 Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo 4K | State of Unreal | Unreal Fest Orlando
YouTube video by Unreal Engine
www.youtube.com
June 3, 2025 at 9:41 PM
The new Witcher 4 UE5.6 tech demo that was shown today is the most amazing realtime tech demo I've seen yet. Nanite Foliage is particularly impressive- I've always liked the idea of voxel-based LOD and this is the best implementation I've ever seen!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aorR...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=aorR...
Excited to finally show off Nanite Foliage www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJtF...
The Witcher 4 - UE 5.6 Tech Demo | State of Unreal 2025
YouTube video by IGN
www.youtube.com
June 3, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Excited to finally show off Nanite Foliage www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJtF...
Great step forward but let’s be clear what this is and isn’t. Faster and higher quality than 3DGS, yay! But these aren’t meshes nor even opaque triangles that we know and love.
2023: Gaussian splatting paper is published, triangles are so over
…
2025: Triangles are so back babbbyyyy
trianglesplatting.github.io
…
2025: Triangles are so back babbbyyyy
trianglesplatting.github.io
Triangle Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering
Triangle Splatting for Real-Time Radiance Field Rendering, 2025.
trianglesplatting.github.io
May 30, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Great step forward but let’s be clear what this is and isn’t. Faster and higher quality than 3DGS, yay! But these aren’t meshes nor even opaque triangles that we know and love.
Reposted by Brian Karis
An update, a bit of retrospection, and a call for you, yes, you, to help JCGT a bit: www.realtimerendering.com/blog/jcgt-is...
JCGT is moving along | Real-Time Rendering
www.realtimerendering.com
May 16, 2025 at 5:34 PM
An update, a bit of retrospection, and a call for you, yes, you, to help JCGT a bit: www.realtimerendering.com/blog/jcgt-is...
I am honored and humbled to share that I’ve been selected for this years ACM SIGGRAPH Practitioner Award www.siggraph.org/award-winner.... I don’t know what to say.
Announcing the 2025 Award Winners - ACM SIGGRAPH
Distinguished Educator Glenn Goldman glenn.goldman@njit.edu For pioneering work and providing opportunities to the academic and professional communities in computer graphics and interac...
www.siggraph.org
May 14, 2025 at 1:28 AM
I am honored and humbled to share that I’ve been selected for this years ACM SIGGRAPH Practitioner Award www.siggraph.org/award-winner.... I don’t know what to say.
I am generally not a fan of architecture talks. Most are an explanation of a 100+ arbitrary decisions with no way to prove they are beneficial. Rarely do they compare to a previous approach to show this was an improvement and why.
March 19, 2025 at 4:41 PM
I am generally not a fan of architecture talks. Most are an explanation of a 100+ arbitrary decisions with no way to prove they are beneficial. Rarely do they compare to a previous approach to show this was an improvement and why.
Reposted by Brian Karis
Just 2 weeks until our #GDC25 talk "Path Tracing Nanite in NVIDIA Zorah". I'm excited to talk about how we're ray tracing insanely detailed Nanite geometry in real-time.
Add it to your schedule and come say hi: schedule.gdconf.com/session/path...
Add it to your schedule and come say hi: schedule.gdconf.com/session/path...
March 5, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Just 2 weeks until our #GDC25 talk "Path Tracing Nanite in NVIDIA Zorah". I'm excited to talk about how we're ray tracing insanely detailed Nanite geometry in real-time.
Add it to your schedule and come say hi: schedule.gdconf.com/session/path...
Add it to your schedule and come say hi: schedule.gdconf.com/session/path...
I found a nice approximation to the integral of projected areas of an SGGX:
integral sqrt( w^T S w ) dw ~= pi * (
(1-1/sqrt3) * ( sqrt(S00) + sqrt(S11) + sqrt(S22) ) +
(1+1/sqrt3) * sqrt( S00 + S11 + S22 ) )
integral sqrt( w^T S w ) dw ~= pi * (
(1-1/sqrt3) * ( sqrt(S00) + sqrt(S11) + sqrt(S22) ) +
(1+1/sqrt3) * sqrt( S00 + S11 + S22 ) )
February 25, 2025 at 9:52 PM
I found a nice approximation to the integral of projected areas of an SGGX:
integral sqrt( w^T S w ) dw ~= pi * (
(1-1/sqrt3) * ( sqrt(S00) + sqrt(S11) + sqrt(S22) ) +
(1+1/sqrt3) * sqrt( S00 + S11 + S22 ) )
integral sqrt( w^T S w ) dw ~= pi * (
(1-1/sqrt3) * ( sqrt(S00) + sqrt(S11) + sqrt(S22) ) +
(1+1/sqrt3) * sqrt( S00 + S11 + S22 ) )
Some of my favorite games of all time.
February 25, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Some of my favorite games of all time.
Reposted by Brian Karis
I just pushed a new paper to arXiv. I realized that a lot of my previous work on robust losses and nerf-y things was dancing around something simpler: a slight tweak to the classic Box-Cox power transform that makes it much more useful and stable. It's this f(x, λ) here:
February 18, 2025 at 6:43 PM
I just pushed a new paper to arXiv. I realized that a lot of my previous work on robust losses and nerf-y things was dancing around something simpler: a slight tweak to the classic Box-Cox power transform that makes it much more useful and stable. It's this f(x, λ) here:
Reposted by Brian Karis
I'll be back at GDC this year!
I'm stoked for our talk: "Path Tracing Nanite in NVIDIA Zorah" with my colleagues Evan Hart and Jiayin Cao. We'll discuss RTX Mega Geometry, ReSTIR PT, and other goodness in our NvRTX branch of UE5 that powers Zorah.
Session: schedule.gdconf.com/session/path...
I'm stoked for our talk: "Path Tracing Nanite in NVIDIA Zorah" with my colleagues Evan Hart and Jiayin Cao. We'll discuss RTX Mega Geometry, ReSTIR PT, and other goodness in our NvRTX branch of UE5 that powers Zorah.
Session: schedule.gdconf.com/session/path...
February 11, 2025 at 9:33 PM
I'll be back at GDC this year!
I'm stoked for our talk: "Path Tracing Nanite in NVIDIA Zorah" with my colleagues Evan Hart and Jiayin Cao. We'll discuss RTX Mega Geometry, ReSTIR PT, and other goodness in our NvRTX branch of UE5 that powers Zorah.
Session: schedule.gdconf.com/session/path...
I'm stoked for our talk: "Path Tracing Nanite in NVIDIA Zorah" with my colleagues Evan Hart and Jiayin Cao. We'll discuss RTX Mega Geometry, ReSTIR PT, and other goodness in our NvRTX branch of UE5 that powers Zorah.
Session: schedule.gdconf.com/session/path...
Reposted by Brian Karis
I've written an article for my webpage on how the raymarcher for The Gunk was made! jarllarsson.github.io/gen/gunkraym...
#gamedev #xbox #gp #graphicsprogramming #rendering #unreal
#gamedev #xbox #gp #graphicsprogramming #rendering #unreal
Raymarching The Gunk
How the raymarched slime was developed for the game The Gunk.
jarllarsson.github.io
February 2, 2025 at 8:08 PM
I've written an article for my webpage on how the raymarcher for The Gunk was made! jarllarsson.github.io/gen/gunkraym...
#gamedev #xbox #gp #graphicsprogramming #rendering #unreal
#gamedev #xbox #gp #graphicsprogramming #rendering #unreal