Advanced Global Illumination, Second Edition [Hardcover]

Philip Dutre (Author), Philippe Bekaert (Author), Kavita Bala (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568813074 | ISBN-13: 978-1568813073 | Publication Date: August 30, 2006 | Edition: 2

This book provides a fundamental understanding of global illumination algorithms. It discusses a broad class of algorithms for realistic image synthesis and introduces a theoretical basis for the algorithms presented. Topics include: physics of light transport, Monte Carlo methods, general strategies for solving the rendering equation, stochastic path-tracing algorithms such as ray tracing and light tracing, stochastic radiosity including photon density estimation and hierarchical Monte Carlo radiosity, hybrid algorithms, metropolis light transport, irradiance caching, photon mapping and instant radiosity, beyond the rendering equation, image display and human perception. If you want to design and implement a global illumination rendering system or need to use and modify an existing system for your specific purpose, this book will give you the tools and the understanding to do so.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is, by far, the best global illumination theory/algorithms book available." - Amazon.com Reviewer "Advanced Global Illumination is a superbly organized and presented academic teaching tool and resource." - Midwest Book Review"

About the Author

Philip Dutre is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium). His research areas of interest include photorealistic graphics, real-time global illumination, texture synthesis and perceptual-based rendering algorithms. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Leuven and spent several years at the Program of Computer Graphics at Cornell University. Philippe Bekaert is associate professor in computer graphics at the Expertise Center for Digital Media of Hasselt University, Belgium. He obtained a Masters degree in physics (1991) and computer science (1993), as well as a Ph.D. in computer science (1999) from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Kavita Bala is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department and Program of Computer Graphics at Cornell University. She specializes in scalable computer graphics leading research projects in interactive rendering, scalable illumination, perceptually-based rendering, feature-based graphics, perceptually-based rendering, and image-based texturing. Bala received her B. Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT, Bombay), and her S.M. and Ph.D. from MIT.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: A K Peters/CRC Press; 2 edition (August 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568813074
• ISBN-13: 978-1568813073
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #576,063 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Global Illumination Theory Book, March 10, 2005

By 

I Dunno "I Dunno" (Ithaca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Advanced Global Illumination, Second Edition (Hardcover)

This is, by far, the best global illumination theory/algorithms book available. The book covers techniques and theories that are at the foundation of all modern renderers. It also provides some nice psuedo-code that demonstrates how to translate theory into code.

The book does have some math, but it is VERY well explained(I'm not a math god by any means, yet I found the equations easy to follow because the authors build an intuitive understanding before hitting you with the equations). A basic calculus course is all you need to get through this book.

This book is NOT an Open GL, DirectX API book. It's a book that focuses on rendering techniques and theory, and it does a great job.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable book for a computer graphics PhD student or researcher, November 2, 2006

By 

Janne Kontkanen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Advanced Global Illumination, Second Edition (Hardcover)

With this book you are not going to learn how to write a ray tracer. In general the book does not explain how to program things, it explains the theory behind different rendering techniques. The book puts together many things that have previously been published only in research publications. For a PhD student or researcher this kind of a book is really a relief as it makes it easier to gain overall knowledge of the science of global illumination.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, August 11, 2007

By 

M. Cooper - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Advanced Global Illumination, Second Edition (Hardcover)

This book thoroughly covers the macroscopic physics of light transport, hemispherical coordinates, and statistics, not to mention several global illumination algorithms in depth. Although it might not be a perfect introduction to the basics of ray tracing, stochastic ray tracing is covered as well. This book is probably best targeted to those interested in extending their ray tracers to include global illumination or those looking to understand the radiosity algorithm.