| Pixar RenderMan | |
|---|---|
 Official RenderMan logo | |
| Developer | Pixar |
| Initial release | 1987; 39 years ago (1987) |
| Stable release | 27.0 / November 13, 2025; 3 months ago (2025-11-13) |
| Operating system | Linux,macOS,Windows |
| Type | Rendering system |
| License | Proprietarycommercial software |
| Website | renderman |
Pixar RenderMan[1] is a photorealistic 3D rendering software produced byPixar Animation Studios. Pixar uses RenderMan torender 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]
To speed up rendering, Pixar engineers performed experiments with parallel rendering computers usingTransputer chips inside aPixar 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 theSonyWalkman was very popular and Jeff Mock called his portable board Renderman, leading to the software name.[3]
RenderMan used theRenderMan Interface Specification (RISpec) to define cameras, geometry, materials, and lights. This specification facilitated communication between 3D modeling and animation applications and therender engine that generates the final high-quality (HQ) images. In the past, RenderMan used theReyes Rendering Architecture. The Renderman standard was first presented at 1993SIGGRAPH, developed with input from 19 companies and 6 or 7 big partners, withPat 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 forOpen 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 toPostScript, the software developed byAdobe Systems Inc. for high-qualitytypography.
— Lawrence M. Fisher,[5]
During this time, Pixar used theC language for developing Renderman, which allowed them to port it to many platforms.[1]
Historically, RenderMan used theReyes algorithm to render images with added support for advanced effects such asray tracing andglobal illumination. Support for Reyes rendering and theRenderMan Shading Language were removed from RenderMan in 2016.[6]
RenderMan 19 had the newRenderMan Integrator System (RIS) and could useMonte Carlopath 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]
RenderMan has been used to create digitalvisual effects forHollywood blockbuster movies such asBeauty and the Beast,Aladdin,The Lion King,Terminator 2: Judgment Day,Toy Story,Jurassic Park,Avatar,Titanic, theStar Wars prequels, andThe Lord of the Rings. RenderMan has received fourAcademy Scientific and Technical Awards. The first was in 1993 honoringPat Hanrahan, Anthony A. Apodaca,Loren Carpenter,Rob L. Cook,Ed Catmull, Darwyn Peachey, andTom Porter.[citation needed] The second was as part of the 73rd Scientific and Technical Academy Awards ceremony presentation on March 3, 2001: theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Board of Governors honoredEd Catmull,Loren Carpenter andRob Cook with anAcademy 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]
1. When will Non-Commercial RenderMan be released? We are now targeting early 2015 for final release. [...]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)3D computer graphics software | |
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| Open-source | |
| Closed-source |
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| Defunct | |
| Core technologies | |
