User Guide > Learning > Lighting > Global Illumination > Caustics

Caustics


In real-life, light travels in a straight line until it is either bounced, transmitted, or absorbed by a surface. Traditonally, computer graphics rendering focuses on direct illumination does not take these secondary effects into account. Global Illumination considers both direct and indirect light such as the light bouncing from one surface to another (irradiance) or transmitting through a transparent object (caustics).