Lights! Camera! Action!

A guide to The Fundamental Maths And Principles Of Rendering.

Introduction And Contents

[ Contents | Part 1 | Part 2 ]

By James Sharman.

Introduction

After hanging about on various graphics related news group it becomes apparent that a lack of fundamental knowledge is catching up with people attempting to produce comparatively advanced systems. This series of documents is intended to fill in the gaps and has no specific bias toward real time or step time rendering. I have attempted to produce this document for use both as a reference and as a guide. In individual areas I start with very simple explanations and then move towards a more expert level. If you are a complete beginner then you may find areas out of your depth, or an expert may find other areas far to simplistic. Please do not stop reading this because you find it to simple or to complex, there will always be later text more relevant to your level of understanding. While writing this document it became apparent that this document series really is a mammoth task. I will return to this part to update and rewrite sections as I continue the series.

Contents

Part 1

1. The Absolute Basics
	- Co-ordinate systems
	- Basic 2D math
	- Basic 3D math

2. Display Projection
	Orthogonal
	Perspective
	Forced 3D
	General Projection Considerations

3. Lighting and Illumination
	Diffused
	Specular
	Ambient
	The Final Combination
	Basic Lighting System Comparisons