Brian Karis
@briankaris.bsky.social
Engineering Fellow at Epic Games. Author of Nanite.
I could skip all the copious amount of visual aids slides demand as well as the hours of practicing speaking it. In the end I’m not sure this turned out better in either way, just different. I’m curious to hear your feedback.
February 2, 2026 at 2:45 AM
I could skip all the copious amount of visual aids slides demand as well as the hours of practicing speaking it. In the end I’m not sure this turned out better in either way, just different. I’m curious to hear your feedback.
After doing numerous talks I decided a written medium the viewer could work through in their own time could better convey the low level details I tend to want to get into. I also imagined it would be less work following “I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”
February 2, 2026 at 2:45 AM
After doing numerous talks I decided a written medium the viewer could work through in their own time could better convey the low level details I tend to want to get into. I also imagined it would be less work following “I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”
I'm finally writing up how Nanite Tessellation works. The first few blogs posts are up. More will be coming.
graphicrants.blogspot.com/2026/02/nani...
graphicrants.blogspot.com/2026/02/nani...
Nanite Tessellation
Nanite Tessellation, aka Nanite Dynamic Tessellation, aka Nanite Dynamic Displacement was the next major feature I worked on after Nanite it...
graphicrants.blogspot.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:40 AM
I'm finally writing up how Nanite Tessellation works. The first few blogs posts are up. More will be coming.
graphicrants.blogspot.com/2026/02/nani...
graphicrants.blogspot.com/2026/02/nani...
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...
Yes but not ready to share anything yet
June 5, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Yes but not ready to share anything yet
Includes this great video showing how the Nanite Foliage seamlessly LODs. No popping. No harsh transitions. Good appearance preservation (although this light direction is overly generous).
June 4, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Includes this great video showing how the Nanite Foliage seamlessly LODs. No popping. No harsh transitions. Good appearance preservation (although this light direction is overly generous).
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?...
1 minor detail, it can switch to voxels within the twigs themselves as they get further as well. A Nanite cluster can now be either 128 triangles or 128 voxel bricks. That visualization only showed 5 steps but there are as many as it takes to halve the count until there is 1 root cluster.
June 4, 2025 at 10:37 PM
1 minor detail, it can switch to voxels within the twigs themselves as they get further as well. A Nanite cluster can now be either 128 triangles or 128 voxel bricks. That visualization only showed 5 steps but there are as many as it takes to halve the count until there is 1 root cluster.
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.
I’ve wondered the same. We haven’t yet explored any alternative uses for these new tools yet. It probably can’t beat the best hand modeled hair cards but it seems like it could be great as an auto generated LOD for spline based grooms.
June 4, 2025 at 2:52 PM
I’ve wondered the same. We haven’t yet explored any alternative uses for these new tools yet. It probably can’t beat the best hand modeled hair cards but it seems like it could be great as an auto generated LOD for spline based grooms.
Yes. This has been one of the most challenging parts of the problem. If opacity per voxel is too expensive, voxels can either be 100% covered or not, which do I fill? And determine that relatively fast since the Nanite build for a mesh needs to take <1min.
June 4, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Yes. This has been one of the most challenging parts of the problem. If opacity per voxel is too expensive, voxels can either be 100% covered or not, which do I fill? And determine that relatively fast since the Nanite build for a mesh needs to take <1min.
A cluster in Nanite typically is up to 128 triangles. Voxel clusters are 128 4x4x4 bricks. Brick positions are fixed point so no precision problems.
Really though gaps aren’t a key concern for voxels since they are used primarily for subpixel features which result in partial coverage.
Really though gaps aren’t a key concern for voxels since they are used primarily for subpixel features which result in partial coverage.
June 4, 2025 at 2:28 PM
A cluster in Nanite typically is up to 128 triangles. Voxel clusters are 128 4x4x4 bricks. Brick positions are fixed point so no precision problems.
Really though gaps aren’t a key concern for voxels since they are used primarily for subpixel features which result in partial coverage.
Really though gaps aren’t a key concern for voxels since they are used primarily for subpixel features which result in partial coverage.
Correct. 3 separate features: assemblies, skeletal meshes, and voxels. None of which is strictly foliage. Each can be used without the other. Can make assemblies and keep as meshes, like the repeated elements on this shield from the original UE5 demo. Or voxelize a single Nanite mesh.
June 4, 2025 at 12:54 AM
Correct. 3 separate features: assemblies, skeletal meshes, and voxels. None of which is strictly foliage. Each can be used without the other. Can make assemblies and keep as meshes, like the repeated elements on this shield from the original UE5 demo. Or voxelize a single Nanite mesh.
Sure. We didn't get time to do the wind animation as an actual physics sim but want to in the future. AC Shadows wind looks amazing and we aren't there yet.
Breaking off branches could be a problem since Nanite assembly HLOD needs to merge things. They aren't individual branches in the distance.
Breaking off branches could be a problem since Nanite assembly HLOD needs to merge things. They aren't individual branches in the distance.
June 3, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Sure. We didn't get time to do the wind animation as an actual physics sim but want to in the future. AC Shadows wind looks amazing and we aren't there yet.
Breaking off branches could be a problem since Nanite assembly HLOD needs to merge things. They aren't individual branches in the distance.
Breaking off branches could be a problem since Nanite assembly HLOD needs to merge things. They aren't individual branches in the distance.