Aqsis

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Aqsis
Developed by	Paul Gregory
Latest release	1.2.0 / February 19, 2007
OS	Windows, Linux
Genre	Raytracer
License	GPL
Website	www.aqsis.org

Free software Portal

Aqsis is an free rendering suite compliant with the RenderMan standard. It is available under GPL, with some parts under LGPL. Its main author and project manager is Paul Gregory.

The Aqsis project consists of a renderer, shader compiler and a few other supporting components. Like the original PRMan from Pixar, it is an implementation of the Reyes rendering algorithm, which is famous for its high speed and efficiency in handling even very large scenes, and has good support for displacement shaders. Like many other open source projects, Aqsis is hosted on SourceForge and is in continuous and active development.

The stable 1.0 version is becoming outdated. Version 1.1, although formally an unstable development version which could change at any time, is well tested by automated regression tests and should be stable enough for production use. The time frame for the upcoming release of a stable version 1.2 is not set.

Because of its Reyes heritage, Aqsis lacks some advanced global illumination features like ray tracing, although active efforts are underway to support some such features. A ray tracing subsystem is planned for version 1.2.

The MakeHuman project uses Aqsis to produce realistic renderings of the human body.