High-Performance Real-Time Implicit Strand-Based Hair Rendering via Software Rasterization

Information

• Publication Type: Journal Paper with Conference Talk
• Workgroup(s)/Project(s):
  • Advanced Computational Design
• Date: July 2026
• Journal: Proceedings of the ACM on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques
• Volume: 9
• Open Access: yes
• Number: 4
• Location: San Francisco, USA
• Lecturer: Lukas Lipp
• Article Number: 58
• ISSN: 2577-6193
• Event: 2026 ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games
• DOI: 10.1145/3820015
• Conference date: 13. May 2026 – 15. May 2026
• Keywords: real-time rendering, hair rendering, software rasterization

Abstract

In this work we propose an efficient deferred software rasterization pipeline for real-time rendering of strand-based hair using hair meshes. Hair plays a crucial role in creating expressive 3D characters, yet strand-based approaches are often restricted to high-end hardware and typically applied to only a small number of hero characters. Hair meshes have proven to be an efficient representation capable of handling a wide variety of groom styles, but existing mesh shader-based implementations still suffer from significant bottlenecks. In this work, we address these limitations with a software rasterization approach that improves performance and compatibility. Our method enables efficient far-field strand-based hair rendering—even at a single sample per pixel—by combining deferred shading with a strand filtering and reconstruction step, while requiring only minimal hardware support. To further enhance scalability, we introduce a level-of-detail (LOD) scheme that adapts hair representation and shading complexity based on viewing distance and screen-space coverage, reducing computational cost further while preserving visual fidelity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first approach to achieve this combination of efficiency, flexibility, scalability, and broad hardware compatibility.

Additional Files and Images

Weblinks

• DOI: 10.1145/3820015

BibTeX

@article{LIPP-2026-HAIR,
  title =      "High-Performance Real-Time Implicit Strand-Based Hair
               Rendering via Software Rasterization",
  author =     "Lukas Lipp and Adrian Jarabo and Michael Wimmer and Lukas
               Bode",
  year =       "2026",
  abstract =   "In this work we propose an efficient deferred software
               rasterization pipeline for real-time rendering of
               strand-based hair using hair meshes. Hair plays a crucial
               role in creating expressive 3D characters, yet strand-based
               approaches are often restricted to high-end hardware and
               typically applied to only a small number of hero characters.
               Hair meshes have proven to be an efficient representation
               capable of handling a wide variety of groom styles, but
               existing mesh shader-based implementations still suffer from
               significant bottlenecks. In this work, we address these
               limitations with a software rasterization approach that
               improves performance and compatibility. Our method enables
               efficient far-field strand-based hair rendering—even at a
               single sample per pixel—by combining deferred shading with
               a strand filtering and reconstruction step, while requiring
               only minimal hardware support. To further enhance
               scalability, we introduce a level-of-detail (LOD) scheme
               that adapts hair representation and shading complexity based
               on viewing distance and screen-space coverage, reducing
               computational cost further while preserving visual fidelity.
               To the best of our knowledge, this is the first approach to
               achieve this combination of efficiency, flexibility,
               scalability, and broad hardware compatibility.",
  month =      jul,
  journal =    "Proceedings of the ACM on Computer Graphics and Interactive
               Techniques",
  volume =     "9",
  number =     "4",
  articleno =  "58",
  issn =       "2577-6193",
  doi =        "10.1145/3820015",
  keywords =   "real-time rendering, hair rendering, software rasterization",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2026/LIPP-2026-HAIR/",
}