There is even some crazy work using micro-CT scans to develop highly realistic scattering models of materials. https://www.cs.cornell.edu/~kb/publications/SIG11

There is even some crazy work using micro-CT scans to develop highly realistic scattering models of materials. https://www.cs.cornell.edu/~kb/publications/SIG11CT.pdf https://www.cs.cornell.edu/~kb/publications/SIG11CT.pdf A friend worked on a similar project to predict bird (and dinosaur) coloration from the structure of their feathers, which is just wild!