Thoroughly revised, this third edition focuses on modern techniques used to generate synthetic three-dimensional images in a fraction of a second. With the advent of programmable shaders, a wide variety of new algorithms have arisen and evolved over the past few years. This edition discusses current, practical rendering methods used in games and other applications. It also presents a solid theoretical framework and relevant mathematics for the field of interactive computer graphics, all in an approachable style. The authors have made the figures used in the book available for download for fair use.:Download Figures.
I'm a Senior Principal Engineer (read, "programmer") at Autodesk, a company that makes more software than you might realize, e.g., Max, Maya, and Softimage. I've been there for over fifteen years, previously working twelve years for a little startup begun by my advisor, Don Greenberg, called 3D/Eye. I graduated with an MS from the Program of Computer Graphics at Cornell in 1985 and have been in Ithaca ever since - it's been a career goal, in a sense: college town, beautiful lakes and trails, plenty of arts and culture, no major highway, and cold winters that help slow growth. Prior to Ithaca I worked on satellites a few years in Princeton with RCA Astro-Electronics. I graduated with a BS in Computer Science from RPI in 1980. I've done research in the areas of ray tracing, radiosity, and interactive shadows, and have contributed to a number of books.
That's the resume filler. Where I have spent a fair bit of my time and effort over the past few decades is in being an active member in the community of computer graphics people. I do my bit to provide useful resources and make things interesting: blogging and editing, maintaining the Graphics Gems code repository, reviewing for the Journal of Graphics Tools and the new Journal of Computer Graphics Techniques, editing the Ray Tracing News, running the Fantasy Graphics League, etc. Which sounds altruistic, or maybe egotistical, but analysis aside, it's what I find I like to do. I also run a popular wildflower identification site - go figure. But I also admit to wasting way too much time on FPS games like the Battlefield series and Left 4 Dead.
