Non-photorealistic Rendering with
Cartesian Genetic Programming using GPUs

by Illya Bakurov
Supervisor: Brian Ross


Non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) is concerned with the algorithm generation of images having unrealistic characteristics, for example, oil paintings or watercolour. Using genetic programming to evolve aesthetically pleasing NPR images is a relatively new approach in the art field, and in the majority of cases it takes a lot of time to generate results. With use of Cartesian genetic programming (CGP) and graphic processing units (GPUs), we can improve the performance of NPR image evolution. Evolutionary NPR can render images with interesting, and often unexpected, graphic effects. CGP provides a means to eliminate large, inefficient rendering expressions, while GPU acceleration parallelizes the calculations, which minimizes the time needed to get results. By using these tools, we can speed up the image generation process. Experiments revealed that CGP expressions are more concise, and search is more exploratory, than in tree-based approaches. Implementation of the system with GPUs showed significant speed-up.

Downloads and publications

Copyright (c) 2017 Illya Bakurov.

Back up: http://www.cosc.brocku.ca/~bross/