This scene was built for Intel's Visual Computing Community in order to demonstrate how to create lighting using caustic effects combined with global illumination, and how those photon-based lighting parameters help produce more realistic reflections on diffuse surfaces with specular highlights, as well as refractions through transparent materials such as glass.
The smaller image shows a scene with only standard raytracing, while the larger image has the caustics and global illumination applied. With that added, the glass looks more crystaline, the icecubes look more frosty and there highlights of refracted light on the wood inlayed table.
+ Softimage XSI 7
+ Photoshop
