Computer Graphics From Scratch

Computer Graphics from Scratch demystifies the algorithms used in modern graphics software and guides beginners through building photorealistic 3D renders. Computer graphics programming books are often math-heavy and intimidating for newcomers. Not this one. Computer Graphics from Scratch takes a simpler approach by keeping the math to a minimum and focusing on only one aspect of computer graphics, 3D rendering. You’ll build two complete, fully functional renderers: a raytracer, which simulates rays of light as they bounce off objects, and a rasterizer, which converts 3D models into 2D pixels. As you progress you’ll learn how to create realistic reflections and shadows, and how to render a scene from any point of view. Pseudocode examples throughout make it easy to write your renderers in any language, and links to live JavaScript demos of each algorithm invite you to explore further on your own. Learn how to: Use perspective projection to draw 3D objects on a 2D plane Simulate the way rays of light interact with surfaces Add mirror-like reflections and cast shadows to objects Render a scene from any camera position using clipping planes Use flat, Gouraud, and Phong shading to mimic real surface lighting Paint texture details onto basic shapes to create realistic-looking objects Whether you’re an aspiring graphics engineer or a novice programmer curious about how graphics algorithms work, Gabriel Gambetta’s simple, clear explanations will quickly put computer graphics concepts and rendering techniques within your reach. All you need is basic coding knowledge and high school math. Computer Graphics from Scratch will cover the rest.

Computer graphics are at work everywhere today, adding eye-popping details to video games, hyper-realistic CGI to major blockbusters, and life-like imagery to computer-animated films. This beginners book will introduce you to a core slice of this ever-expanding field, 3D rendering, with a focus on two popular algorithmic methods: raytracing and rasterization. Written to be easily understood by high-school students but rigorous enough for professional engineers, you'll build each of these surprisingly simple algorithms into complete, fully functional renderers as you build your knowledge base. The first half covers raytracing, which simulates rays of light as they bounce off of objects in a scene; the second half breaks down rasterization, the real-time process for converting 3D graphics into a screen-compatible array of 2D pixels. Every chapter gives you something visually new and exciting to add to your works-in-progress, from creating reflections and shadows that make objects look more realistic, to rendering a scene from any directional point of view. You'll learn how to: •Represent objects in a scene, and use perspective projection to draw them in •Compute the illumination for light sources (point, directional, and ambient) •Render mirror-like reflections on surfaces, and cast shadows for depth •Use clipping algorithms to render a scene from any camera position •Implement flat shading, Gouraud shading, and Phong shading algorithms •""Paint” textures that fake surface details and turn shapes into everyday objects The book uses informal pseudocode throughout the text, so you can write your renderers in any language. In addition, the author provides links to live working versions of his algorithms.

Computer Graphics from Scratch demystifies the algorithms used in modern graphics software and guides beginners through building photorealistic 3D renders. Computer graphics programming books are often math-heavy and intimidating for newcomers. Not this one. Computer Graphics from Scratch takes a simpler approach by keeping the math to a minimum and focusing on only one aspect of computer graphics, 3D rendering. You’ll build two complete, fully functional renderers: a raytracer, which simulates rays of light as they bounce off objects, and a rasterizer, which converts 3D models into 2D pixels. As you progress you’ll learn how to create realistic reflections and shadows, and how to render a scene from any point of view. Pseudocode examples throughout make it easy to write your renderers in any language, and links to live JavaScript demos of each algorithm invite you to explore further on your own. Learn how to: Use perspective projection to draw 3D objects on a 2D plane Simulate the way rays of light interact with surfaces Add mirror-like reflections and cast shadows to objects Render a scene from any camera position using clipping planes Use flat, Gouraud, and Phong shading to mimic real surface lighting Paint texture details onto basic shapes to create realistic-looking objects Whether you’re an aspiring graphics engineer or a novice programmer curious about how graphics algorithms work, Gabriel Gambetta’s simple, clear explanations will quickly put computer graphics concepts and rendering techniques within your reach. All you need is basic coding knowledge and high school math. Computer Graphics from Scratch will cover the rest.

Computer Graphics: Theory and Practice provides a complete and integrated introduction to this area. The book only requires basic knowledge of calculus and linear algebra, making it an accessible introductory text for students. It focuses on conceptual aspects of computer graphics, covering fundamental mathematical theories and models and the inherent problems in implementing them. In so doing, the book introduces readers to the core challenges of the field and provides suggestions for further reading and studying on various topics. For each conceptual problem described, solution strategies are compared and presented in algorithmic form. This book, along with its companion Design and Implementation of 3D Graphics Systems, gives readers a full understanding of the principles and practices of implementing 3D graphics systems.

Discover how to build impressive 3D graphics with the next-generation graphics API—Vulkan About This Book Get started with the Vulkan API and its programming techniques using the easy-to-follow examples to create stunning 3D graphics Understand memory management in Vulkan and implement image and buffer resources Get hands-on with the drawing process and synchronization, and render a 3D graphics scene with the Vulkan graphics pipeline Who This Book Is For This book is ideal for graphic programmers who want to get up and running with Vulkan. It's also great for programmers who have experience with OpenGL and other graphic APIs who want to take advantage of next generation APIs. A good knowledge of C/C++ is expected. What You Will Learn Learn fundamentals of Vulkan programing model to harness the power of modern GPU devices. Implement device, command buffer and queues to get connected with the physical hardware. Explore various validation layers and learn how to use it for debugging Vulkan application. Get a grip on memory management to control host and device memory operations. Understand and implement buffer and image resource types in Vulkan. Define drawing operations in the Render pass and implement graphics pipeline. Manage GLSL shader using SPIR-V and update the shader resources with descriptor sets and push constants. Learn the drawing process, manage resources with synchronization objects and render 3D scene output on screen with Swapchain. Bring realism to your rendered 3D scene with textures, and implement linear and optimal textures In Detail Vulkan, the next generation graphics and compute API, is the latest offering by Khronos. This API is the successor of OpenGL and unlike OpenGL, it offers great flexibility and high performance capabilities to control modern GPU devices. With this book, you'll get great insights into the workings of Vulkan and how you can make stunning graphics run with minimum hardware requirements. We begin with a brief introduction to the Vulkan system and show you its distinct features with the successor to the OpenGL API. First, you will see how to establish a connection with hardware devices to query the available queues, memory types, and capabilities offered. Vulkan is verbose, so before diving deep into programing, you'll get to grips with debugging techniques so even first-timers can overcome error traps using Vulkan's layer and extension features. You'll get a grip on command buffers and acquire the knowledge to record various operation commands into command buffer and submit it to a proper queue for GPU processing. We'll take a detailed look at memory management and demonstrate the use of buffer and image resources to create drawing textures and image views for the presentation engine and vertex buffers to store geometry information. You'll get a brief overview of SPIR-V, the new way to manage shaders, and you'll define the drawing operations as a single unit of work in the Render pass with the help of attachments and subpasses. You'll also create frame buffers and build a solid graphics pipeline, as well as making use of the synchronizing mechanism to manage GPU and CPU hand-shaking. By the end, you'll know everything you need to know to get your hands dirty with the coolest Graphics API on the block. Style and approach This book takes a practical approach to guide you through the Vulkan API, and you will get to build an application throughout the course of the book. Since you are expected to be familiar with C/C++, there is not much hand-holding throughout the course of the book.

This book is an essential tool for second-year undergraduate students and above, providing clear and concise explanations of the basic concepts of computer graphics, and enabling the reader to immediately implement these concepts in Java 2D and/or 3D with only elementary knowledge of the programming language. Features: provides an ideal, self-contained introduction to computer graphics, with theory and practice presented in integrated combination; presents a practical guide to basic computer graphics programming using Java 2D and 3D; includes new and expanded content on the integration of text in 3D, particle systems, billboard behaviours, dynamic surfaces, the concept of level of detail, and the use of functions of two variables for surface modelling; contains many pedagogical tools, including numerous easy-to-understand example programs and end-of-chapter exercises; supplies useful supplementary material, including additional exercises, solutions, and program examples, at an associated website.

This engaging book presents the essential mathematics needed to describe, simulate, and render a 3D world. Reflecting both academic and in-the-trenches practical experience, the authors teach you how to describe objects and their positions, orientations, and trajectories in 3D using mathematics. The text provides an introduction to mathematics for game designers, including the fundamentals of coordinate spaces, vectors, and matrices. It also covers orientation in three dimensions, calculus and dynamics, graphics, and parametric curves.

No one has done more to conquer the performance limitations of the PC than Michael Abrash, a software engineer for Microsoft. His complete works are contained in this massive volume, including everything he has written about performance coding and real-time graphics. The CD-ROM contains the entire text in Adobe Acrobat 3.0 format, allowing fast searches for specific facts.