Graphics Programming Methods (Charles River Media Graphics) [Hardcover]

Jeff Lander (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1584502991 | ISBN-13: 978-1584502999 | Publication Date: July 24, 2003 | Edition: 1

The capabilities and computational speed of today's hardware have dramatically enhanced graphics technology. These improvements happen so quickly, however, that it is often difficult for programmers to keep pace. Graphics Programming Methods is a unique collection of application and technique-driven articles that provide practical methods for solving problems facing every graphics programmer. Each article is written by an experienced programmer and details how to apply new techniques or improve upon widely-used methods. Using interesting and advanced research, the collection addresses key issues in animation, geometry, and rendering. All of the research is presented in a practical and approachable manner and most examples include full source code, making immediate implementation of the techniques possible. This innovative collection is a must-have resource for graphics programmers that will help you think critically, expand your knowledge, and create new methods of your own.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jeff Lander (Redondo Beach, CA) is the founder of Darwin 3D, a company geared toward a higher adaptation of real-time 3D graphics. Jeff has worked as a programmer for over 15 years in the video game, television, and film arenas, where he developed many real-time graphic applications. He also wrote the monthly Graphic Content column for Game Developer Magazine from 1998-2001, co-founded the Game Technology seminars, and was the graphics section editor for Game Programming Gems 3.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 406 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 1 edition (July 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584502991
• ISBN-13: 978-1584502999
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,067,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Look at the Facial Methods, January 3, 2004

By 

W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Graphics Programming Methods (Charles River Media Graphics) (Hardcover)

Graphics programming has been amazingly successful in the last twenty years, driven by Moore's Law and a lot of smart researchers, like those who contributed to this book.

The attraction here is that you can see what are the major current problems in graphics. Whereas 15 years ago, say, texture maps and NURBS would have been cutting edge, now those have been incorporated into most software packages and even hardware.

There is still more to be done with fractals, as the book reveals. Better, more lifelike landscapes, for example.

But perhaps the hardest, and least developed aspect treated in the book is that of modelling human faces, and the inverse problem of recognising faces from actual photographs. This is not meant as a criticism of those authors discussing it. Rather it is because of evolution. How does an animal recognise another of its own species? Ever since sight evolved, this is a fundamental issue that is crucial to species propagation. Hence, when you recognise a familiar face, you are invoking old and opaque algorithms buried deep in our brain.

As a result, when you look at a computer generated human face, you are far more likely to find something "off" about it than you are with an image of a tree.

The book's facial methods are an excellent start to this problem. But much remains to be done.