3D Graphics: A Visual Approach

Rating:
Summary: Excellent primer for leaning basic concepts of 3D graphics
Review: My overall impression of the book with the accompanying software is excellent. It is an effective way to teach otherwise abstract ideas. The software along with the book put me in the "doing" mode, which is reminiscent of John Dewey's "learn by doing" theory. Further, Dr. Wolfe's writing style is welcoming and she did a wonderful job of breaking tremendously big ideas, like radiosity, into small understandable chunks... I felt like an active reader... This was another thing that made it friendlier for the non-computer scientist.

Even though the narration was serious, there was a refreshing sense of humor folded into it, we are to enjoy ourselves, after all. I especially liked the "go away" button in the software, it made me feel more at ease and added a sense of playfulness. The exercises had the same spirit, they set me up with new information, then asked me to test it out in new ways. All the while I was having fun and forgot that I was doing (ehem) work.

The strongest and most friendly parts of the narrative were the examples. Dr. Wolfe consistently tied new ideas with things we already know. For example, and there are too many to mention them all, she explained the intensity of a directional light source by connecting it with the headlights of a car at different distances, and the concept of ambient light by describing a portrait studio.

The basis of Dr. Wolfe's narrative, the fine tuning of the student's "visual literacy" is appropriate, especially since this is an under-represented discipline in contemporary schooling. As she stated in the introduction, visual literacy is important for artists and programmers because both groups need to be able to identify the computer graphic effects in an image and be able to communicate about it... Visual literacy is an understanding of images and what they represent. Just as letters form words that are symbolic of thought, so too are digital effects that form images which are representative of ideas. How those ideas come across visually has everything to do with how the picture is composed and what effects the artists and programmers choose. Just as an artist must accept that a raytraced three hour movie is computationally unreasonable, a programmer must understand that getting the correct highlight or texture impacts the meaning of an image, even if it requires slightly more work.

This kind of book is very appropriate for teaching 3D artists basic graphics concepts. The students grapple with all the topics Dr. Wolfe covered in the book. The students presently see these concepts as obscure options in a daunting software package manual. Many students never grasp the differences between the light models, surface algorithms, and shaders they choose. In fact, some do not understand why they run out of time trying to render an animation before an assignment deadline. After all they left it to render all night! 3D Graphics: A Visual Approach clearly illustrates why their animation did not finish rendering on time, as well as other abstract ideas the students initially encounter. The book removes the obscurity from the concepts and makes them real.

There are a few places that I do not think are necessary for the artists to understand, yet I would not remove them from the book. Just as the types of people in computer science vary, so do the people in art. Some will want to know exactly how the amplitude and frequency were calculated, while others will just want to use it. Even though there are places that are most appropriate for artists, such as the first three chapters, basic texture mapping, lighting, basic shaders, and portions of the cost and effect chapter, the other areas, like amplitude, raytracing revisited, and some of the details of "foolers" will provide further information for those interested.

The software was straightforward, and yes, it did take me all but 15 seconds to learn. However, some kind of notation in the table of contents that corresponds to each option in TERA. I often found myself checking the table of contents to try to figure out which part of TERA I should play with. It will just make the readability better.

I also think there should be a title bar that specifies what portion of TERA I am running while I explore. For example, something that says "Z-buffer Algorithms" or "Foolers" while I am in that section.

Overall, the book was excellent! A thinking reader will not get confused, yet when I look at the table of contents, I am amazed about the amount of information Dr. Wolfe covered. I almost feel a bit guilty, like I learned something without "working." I think that is the point.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent primer for leaning basic concepts of 3D graphics
Review: My overall impression of the book with the accompanying software is excellent. It is an effective way to teach otherwise abstract ideas. The software along with the book put me in the "doing" mode, which is reminiscent of John Dewey's "learn by doing" theory. Further, Dr. Wolfe's writing style is welcoming and she did a wonderful job of breaking tremendously big ideas, like radiosity, into small understandable chunks... I felt like an active reader... This was another thing that made it friendlier for the non-computer scientist.

Even though the narration was serious, there was a refreshing sense of humor folded into it, we are to enjoy ourselves, after all. I especially liked the "go away" button in the software, it made me feel more at ease and added a sense of playfulness. The exercises had the same spirit, they set me up with new information, then asked me to test it out in new ways. All the while I was having fun and forgot that I was doing (ehem) work.

The strongest and most friendly parts of the narrative were the examples. Dr. Wolfe consistently tied new ideas with things we already know. For example, and there are too many to mention them all, she explained the intensity of a directional light source by connecting it with the headlights of a car at different distances, and the concept of ambient light by describing a portrait studio.

The basis of Dr. Wolfe's narrative, the fine tuning of the student's "visual literacy" is appropriate, especially since this is an under-represented discipline in contemporary schooling. As she stated in the introduction, visual literacy is important for artists and programmers because both groups need to be able to identify the computer graphic effects in an image and be able to communicate about it... Visual literacy is an understanding of images and what they represent. Just as letters form words that are symbolic of thought, so too are digital effects that form images which are representative of ideas. How those ideas come across visually has everything to do with how the picture is composed and what effects the artists and programmers choose. Just as an artist must accept that a raytraced three hour movie is computationally unreasonable, a programmer must understand that getting the correct highlight or texture impacts the meaning of an image, even if it requires slightly more work.

This kind of book is very appropriate for teaching 3D artists basic graphics concepts. The students grapple with all the topics Dr. Wolfe covered in the book. The students presently see these concepts as obscure options in a daunting software package manual. Many students never grasp the differences between the light models, surface algorithms, and shaders they choose. In fact, some do not understand why they run out of time trying to render an animation before an assignment deadline. After all they left it to render all night! 3D Graphics: A Visual Approach clearly illustrates why their animation did not finish rendering on time, as well as other abstract ideas the students initially encounter. The book removes the obscurity from the concepts and makes them real.

There are a few places that I do not think are necessary for the artists to understand, yet I would not remove them from the book. Just as the types of people in computer science vary, so do the people in art. Some will want to know exactly how the amplitude and frequency were calculated, while others will just want to use it. Even though there are places that are most appropriate for artists, such as the first three chapters, basic texture mapping, lighting, basic shaders, and portions of the cost and effect chapter, the other areas, like amplitude, raytracing revisited, and some of the details of "foolers" will provide further information for those interested.

The software was straightforward, and yes, it did take me all but 15 seconds to learn. However, some kind of notation in the table of contents that corresponds to each option in TERA. I often found myself checking the table of contents to try to figure out which part of TERA I should play with. It will just make the readability better.

I also think there should be a title bar that specifies what portion of TERA I am running while I explore. For example, something that says "Z-buffer Algorithms" or "Foolers" while I am in that section.

Overall, the book was excellent! A thinking reader will not get confused, yet when I look at the table of contents, I am amazed about the amount of information Dr. Wolfe covered. I almost feel a bit guilty, like I learned something without "working." I think that is the point.