Andrew Glassner's Other Notebook: Further Recreations in Computer Graphics [Paperback]

Andrew Glassner (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1568811713 | ISBN-13: 978-1568811710 | Publication Date: July 15, 2002 | Edition: 1st

Once again, Andrew Glassner opens his notebook and invites readers in a wide range of stimulating explorations of art, nature, and computer graphics. The text of this book is accessible and informal, and richly illustrated with hundreds of images illustrating topics from Celtic knotwork and lightning to soap bubbles and the mysteries of camera shutters. This well-known author brings decades of experience as a researcher and writer to create discussions that are as clear as they are captivating. The book is intended for hobbyists, researchers, students, and anyone interested in computer graphics and its uses for creative exploration.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Andrew Glassner has been a researcher in computer graphics for over 20 years. The New York Times wrote, "Andrew Glassner [is one] of the most respected talents in the world of computer graphics research." He is also a popular speaker, a film writer and director, a novelist, and a prolific author of computer graphics books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: A K Peters/CRC Press; 1st edition (July 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568811713
• ISBN-13: 978-1568811710
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,557,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recreate special lighting and camera techniques, November 8, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andrew Glassner's Other Notebook: Further Recreations in Computer Graphics (Paperback)

Andrew Glassner's Other Notebook: Further Recreations in Computer Graphics by computer graphics researcher and expert Andrew Glassner is an inspiring, thought-provoking, full-color, visual, mathematical, and tutorial tour of some of the artistic achievements that modern computers are capable of. Individual chapters address programming functions and commands to craft remarkable images of soap bubbles, Celtic knotwork, recreate special lighting and camera techniques, transform sounds into shapes, and much more. Andrew Glassner's Other Notebook is a very highly recommended supplementary resource for budding computer artists, hobbyists, students, and professional designers seeking to create unique and memorable computer graphics.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I've enjoyed in years!, July 31, 2002

By 

David P. Reed (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Andrew Glassner's Other Notebook: Further Recreations in Computer Graphics (Paperback)

The combination of beautiful graphics and a curious mind make this book a fantastic educational experience. I just happened to see it in a bookstore, picked it up, and couldn't stop reading it until the end. The quality of the book, even though it is a paperback, is fantastic, and each chapter opens up a new and fun idea. I notice that Amazon is nearly out of stock. I suspect that means it's really selling well. It should.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great collection of graphics ideas that spark the imagination, January 20, 2006

By 

calvinnme - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Andrew Glassner's Other Notebook: Further Recreations in Computer Graphics (Paperback)

This collection of articles by Andrew Glassner is great for sparking the imagination of computer graphics programmers by getting them to look at problems in unconventional ways. Glassner tackles a number of interesting subjects in this second effort of his "Notebook" series.
My personal favorite was the section on soap bubbles, because it gave me some interesting ideas for creating some animations. Glassner discusses the chemistry of soap films, some of their basic geometry, and how to write a soap-film shader. He also talks about wave interference, and how that gives rise to the beautiful colors that make up soap bubbles.
Another useful article for animators was the one on the ceraunoscope that could produce lightning with particular physical and audio characteristics. One of the most ingenious articles was the Shape Synthesizer, which is a system for artistic 3D modeling. Rather than computerize an existing 3D medium, Glassner developed a technique for creating shapes. He turned to the highly successful field of sound synthesis, and derived three principles that were important to sound synthesizers and also map well into 3D geometry. He used this mapping to develop a set of modules and a single data type carried by the "wires" between modules resulting in interesting 3D forms.
There are also chapters relating - of all things - window wipers and computer graphics, and there is an entire article devoted to quantum computing. If you have any interest in this field you might want to start with this book, since Glassner does a better job of explaining the basics of quantum computing in his one article than do most books on the subject.
Although there is no code included with this book, there are enough details given both via text and equations that you should be able to write your own. Therefore, I would highly recommend this book both to the computer graphic programmer as well as anyone else with a curious and probing mind.