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Learning graphics programming, not just an API

Started by drowsyn Sep 3, 2011 at 2:58 PM 2 replies 2.5k views

Original Post

Sep 3, 2011 at 2:58 PM

I've done a fair bit of both Direct3D (through XNA) and OpenGL graphics programming. It's never been very complex code, just the bare minimum I've needed for my game projects. However, graphics programming is something that's always interested me (it's kind of the reason I got into programming in the first place), and now I'm looking to really dive into computer graphics to see if it's as interesting as I think it is (if that makes any sense).

I searched on these forums and some people suggested writing a raytracer or a software renderer to really understand the basics properly, but I don't really know where to start with either. I've looked at some of the literature, and it seems like most of the recommended books are very theory oriented, which seems like a bad way for a relative newbie to get into it. Maybe that's just the nature of graphics programming, I don't know. I'm not looking for a book that just teaches me an API, but more for something that with some work can give me enough of the ideas behind computer graphics that I might be able to move on to things like raytracing or software rendering. Any suggestions?

speciesUnknown

Sep 3, 2011 at 3:06 PM

I've done a fair bit of both Direct3D (through XNA) and OpenGL graphics programming. It's never been very complex code, just the bare minimum I've needed for my game projects. However, graphics programming is something that's always interested me (it's kind of the reason I got into programming in the first place), and now I'm looking to really dive into computer graphics to see if it's as interesting as I think it is (if that makes any sense).

I searched on these forums and some people suggested writing a raytracer or a software renderer to really understand the basics properly, but I don't really know where to start with either. I've looked at some of the literature, and it seems like most of the recommended books are very theory oriented, which seems like a bad way for a relative newbie to get into it. Maybe that's just the nature of graphics programming, I don't know. I'm not looking for a book that just teaches me an API, but more for something that with some work can give me enough of the ideas behind computer graphics that I might be able to move on to things like raytracing or software rendering. Any suggestions?

It used to be the case that you would learn to use a graphics API, but shaders changed all that. Now, you learn a technique, and then implement it in shaders. So, being able to write shaders would be the first step to learning graphics programming. You need to understand the transformation / rasterization process, and writing a software renderer will let you do that, but software renderers are of limited use in real life.

drowsyn

Sep 4, 2011 at 11:00 AM

Shaders, huh. Makes sense. I know the basics, to the point that I can implement a shader that does what T&L hardware used to do. Where should I go to take that next step and start implementing something a little more complex? The ShaderX and GPU Gems books get recommended a lot, but I don't really feel comfortable with the format quite yet. They're no doubt great resources, but as a newbie I think I'd get more out of a book that goes through concepts (say, things like point/spot lighting and shadows, reflections) in a more structured way. Any suggestions?

Darkbouncer4689

Sep 5, 2011 at 6:45 AM

Real time rendering is an amazing graphics book. I'm not exactly sure what your level is at, but if you don't understand the graphics pipeline their second chapter covers the pipeline better than anything else I've read (my graphics teacher just stole their chapter to teach our class). Their following chapters cover basically every type of cool graphics effect you may be interested in.

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