Fundamentals of Computer Graphics
by Peter Shirley · first published 2002
6mentions
5recommended by
6HN commenters
2010–2023first – last mentioned
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Well-written intro textbook that teaches both the math and how to code the algorithms, without tying itself to OpenGL; suits anyone starting to write their own renderer or graphics programming.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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If you're interested in writing a renderer yourself (which is obviously way cooler than using some tools), I'd recommend first picking up either "Fundamentals of Computer Graphics" by Shirley and Marschner or "Computer Graphics: Principles & Practices" by Foley and Van Dam. Once you understand the basics of computer graphics and especially of shading and ray tracing, I'd recommend…
on “Intro to RenderMan for Blender” ↗I think this is aimed at middle/high school students. It probably can be interesting for adults, but I'd really recommend picking up a book such as Fundamentals of Computer Graphics by Shirley and Marschner [1]. [1] https://www.cs.cornell.edu/~srm/fcg3/
on “Pixar in a Box – Khan Academy” ↗I found Fundamentals of Computer Graphics by Peter Shirley to be a great intro book. Yes, it's a textbook, but it's one of the better written ones. I like that it also teaches you how to code the algorithms, not just the math behind them. It's…
on “Ask HN: What's your most interesting life goal currently?” ↗…through some of the formulas on paper until you understand what they do. One of my favorites, because it does not use any particular language and the math derivations are detailed and easy to fallow. Fundamentals of Computer Graphics - Shirley https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Computer-Graphics-Peter-...
on “Casual Introduction to Low-Level Graphics Programming” ↗…you are interested in. I can give a dozen recommendation for books in computer graphics, but that may not be helpful for you personally. But if you are are into graphics programming: -Peter Shirley's Fundamentals of Computer Graphics is a great comprehensive resource. Despite the name, it serves as a great jumping off point even for experts into a different subdomain if they don't know where to start - Johnathan Cooper's Game Anim…
on “Ask HN: Programming Courses for Experienced Coders?” ↗How does that book compares to Peter Shirley's Fundamentals of computer graphics [1] I'm interested in CG but don't really know where to start. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentals-Computer-Graphics-Fourth...
on “Teach Yourself Computer Science” ↗