Janky Engine for Lighting & Lattice Oscillation (JELLO)

(CS184 Summer 2025 Final Project Milestone)

Walter Cheng, Crystal Cheng, Isaiah Tapia, Nandini Velinedi

Our Slides!  &  Our Video!

3 Jello Image

Gelatine desserts are desserts made with a sweetened and flavoured processed collagen product (gelatine), which makes the dessert "set" from a liquid to a soft elastic solid gel. In the United States and Canada, this dessert is known by the genericised trademark "jello". (Wikipedia)

What We've Accomplished Thus Far

We started off our final project by building the foundation for our custom OpenGL-based simulation and rendering engine. As a part of our rendering pipeline, we have already succesfully implemented the mirror BSDF and are currently working on the refractive BSDF to prepare for the jello's famous translucent, glossy material. On the simulation side, we completed parts 1 and 2 of Homework 4, the cloth simulation, which has served as a great base for developing our spring-mass system. Using the spring grid from there, we intend to extend it into a 3D jello structure.

Preliminary Results
Reflection

After receiving the feedback on our original proposal, we realized that our scope was a little bit too ambitious for the short time frame given to finish by Next Tuesday. The main portions that would require too much time are the full real-time ray tracing and physically accurate subsurface scattering. So we have refined our project goals to instead focus on building a realistic-looking and satisfying bouncy jello that also has a physically stable structure, while still covering the core CS184 concepts covered such as: mesh-based deformation, lighting, and shading.

Our Timeline
Week 2 (August 3 - August 8)
Phase 1
Core Physics
  • Build a 3D spring-mass lattice based on our 2D grid
  • Connect structural, shear, and bend springs
  • Apply gravity and spring forces using Verlet integration
  • Add basic collision with a plate
Phase 2
Simulation Debugging
  • Build a 3D spring-mass lattice based on our 2D grid
  • Connect structural, shear, and bend springs
  • Apply gravity and spring forces using Verlet integration
  • Add basic collision with a plate
Phase 3
Visual Rendering
  • Implement Phong or Blinn shading as a base
  • Add a fake translucent material
  • Add specular highlights to simulate jello surface
  • Use basic lighting and shadows to make jello more realistic
Week 2 (August 3 - August 8)
Phase 4
Scene
  • Set up simulation scene with plate and nice background, lighting
  • Capture simulation frames using OpenGL viewport

Resources