Practical algorithms for 3D computer graphics

Summary: "Preface Taken as a whole, the topics covered in this book will enable you to create a complete suite of programs for three-dimensional computer animation, modeling and image synthesis. It is about practical algorithms for each stage in the creative process. The text takes you from the construction of polygonal models of objects (real or imaginary) through rigid body animation into hierarchical character animation and finally down the rendering pipeline for the synthesis of realistic images of the models you build. The content of the first edition of the book, published in 2001, arose from my experience of working on two comprehensive commercial 3D animation and mod- eling application programs (Envisage 3D and SoftFX) for the personal computer in the 1990s. In that time the capabilities of both the hardware and software for creating computer graphics increased almost unimaginably. Back in 2001 it was hard to envisage how radically the graphics scene would change again as the special purpose graphics processors (GPUs) rolled out, with ever increasing capabilities. Since 2001 we have been finding new and exciting ways to take advantage of the advancements in graphics technology through an open source 3D animation and modeling program called OpenFX and in investigating how to enhance the immersive experience with virtual reality [60]. I am sure that the computer games of the future will have to interact with all the human senses and not just our sight. Glimpses of this are here now in the Nintendo Wii and the Microsoft Kinect"--