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Pixar RenderMan

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Pixar RenderMan
DeveloperPixar
Initial release1987; 39 years ago (1987)
Stable release
27.0 / November 13, 2025; 2 months ago (2025-11-13)
Operating systemLinux, macOS, Windows
TypeRendering system
LicenseProprietary commercial software
Websiterenderman.pixar.com

Pixar RenderMan[1] is a photorealistic 3D rendering software produced by Pixar Animation Studios. Pixar uses RenderMan to render their in-house 3D animated movie productions and it is also available as a commercial product licensed to third parties. In 2015, a free non-commercial version of RenderMan became available.[2]

Name

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To speed up rendering, Pixar engineers performed experiments with parallel rendering computers using Transputer chips inside a Pixar Image Computer. The name comes from the nickname of a small circuit board (2.5 × 5 inches or 6.4 × 13 cm) containing one Transputer that engineer Jeff Mock could put in his pocket. During that time the Sony Walkman was very popular and Jeff Mock called his portable board Renderman, leading to the software name.[3]

Technology

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RenderMan used the RenderMan Interface Specification (RISpec) to define cameras, geometry, materials, and lights. This specification facilitated communication between 3D modeling and animation applications and the render engine that generates the final high-quality (HQ) images. In the past, RenderMan used the Reyes Rendering Architecture. The Renderman standard was first presented at 1993 SIGGRAPH, developed with input from 19 companies and 6 or 7 big partners, with Pat Hanrahan taking a leading role. Ed Catmull said no software product met the RenderMan Standard in 1993. RenderMan met it after about two years.[3]

Additionally RenderMan 21 added support for Open Shading Language to define textural patterns.[4]

When Pixar started development, Steve Jobs described the original goal for RenderMan in 1991:

"Our goal is to make Renderman and Iceman the system software of the 90s," Mr. Jobs said, likening these programs to PostScript, the software developed by Adobe Systems Inc. for high-quality typography.

— Lawrence M. Fisher, [5]

During this time, Pixar used the C language for developing Renderman, which allowed them to port it to many platforms.[1]

Historically, RenderMan used the Reyes algorithm to render images with added support for advanced effects such as ray tracing and global illumination. Support for Reyes rendering and the RenderMan Shading Language were removed from RenderMan in 2016.[6]

RenderMan 19 had the new RenderMan Integrator System (RIS) and could use Monte Carlo path tracing to generate images.[7] With RenderMan 27, XPU (extreme processing unit) is the main renderer, set to replace RIS (now in maintenance mode).[8]

Awards

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RenderMan has been used to create digital visual effects for Hollywood blockbuster movies such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Toy Story, Jurassic Park, Avatar, Titanic, the Star Wars prequels, and The Lord of the Rings. RenderMan has received four Academy Scientific and Technical Awards. The first was in 1993 honoring Pat Hanrahan, Anthony A. Apodaca, Loren Carpenter, Rob L. Cook, Ed Catmull, Darwyn Peachey, and Tom Porter.[citation needed] The second was as part of the 73rd Scientific and Technical Academy Awards ceremony presentation on March 3, 2001: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Board of Governors honored Ed Catmull, Loren Carpenter and Rob Cook with an Academy Award of Merit "for significant advancements to the field of motion picture rendering as exemplified in Pixar’s RenderMan".[9] The third was in 2010 honoring "Per Christensen, Christophe Hery, and Michael Bunnell for the development of point-based rendering for indirect illumination and ambient occlusion." The fourth was in 2011 honoring David Laur. It has also won the Gordon E. Sawyer Award in 2009 and The Coons Award.[10] It is the first software product awarded an Oscar.[11]

Filmography

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Feature films

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Animation

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Notable studios using RenderMan

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North America

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United States

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Canada

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South America

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Brazil

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  • StartAnima

Europe

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United Kingdom

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France

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Germany

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Asia

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China

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South Korea

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  • Dexter Studios

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Ponting, Bob (February 27, 1989). "Renderman Imaging Gets Vendor Support". InfoWorld. Vol. 11, no. 9. InfoWorld Media Group. pp. 19, 21.
  2. ^ "Free Non-Commercial RenderMan FAQ". RenderMan home. Pixar. Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014. 1. When will Non-Commercial RenderMan be released? We are now targeting early 2015 for final release. [...]
  3. ^ a b "Pixar's RenderMan turns 25". 25 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2019-04-21. Retrieved 2019-04-21.
  4. ^ "Pixar unveils RenderMan 21 | CG Channel". www.cgchannel.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  5. ^ Fisher, Lawrence M. (2 April 1991). "Hard Times For Innovator In Graphics". New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 November 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Pixar ships RenderMan 21 | CG Channel". www.cgchannel.com. Archived from the original on December 24, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  7. ^ "RenderMan: under the (new) varnish". May 14, 2015. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  8. ^ "The Evolution of RenderMan". renderman.pixar.com. Retrieved 2026-01-06.
  9. ^ "Pixar's RenderMan a true lasting effect | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. 11 August 2008. Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  10. ^ "Pixar's RenderMan | About". renderman.pixar.com. Archived from the original on 2023-10-11. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  11. ^ And the Oscar goes to... Archived 2024-05-18 at the Wayback Machine, IEEE Spectrum, 2 April 2001.
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