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From: a976@mindlink.UUCP (Ron Tarrant)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: 3D Graphics book
Message-ID: <2260@mindlink.UUCP>
Date: 27 Jun 90 04:04:20 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Lines: 59

> c8843267@cc.nu.oz.au writes:
> 
> Msg-ID: <3013.26869878@cc.nu.oz.au>
> Posted: 25 Jun 90 13:04:23 GMT
> 
> Org.  : University of Newcastle
> 
> Hi,
>         I want to make a set of fast 3D rendering routines in assembler on
> the
> amiga and I want a book on the subject of 3D Graphics. Can anyone recommend a
> particular book which teaches all the theory generally and is still able to
> be
> applied easily to the amiga ? Hope so.
> 
>                                                                 Adam.


If you want to start with a book that covers 3D theory in layman's language,
I'd suggest "3D Computer Graphics, a User's Guide for Artists and Designers" by
Andrew S. Glassner. I avoided this book for two years because I thought it
would be too simple and talk about how to use software. But I was wrong. It's
an excelent introduction to just about every aspect of 3D on computers. It
doesn't have any code examples,
thought and isn't really a programmer's introduction. But it does get
you used to the ideas behind 3D.
        From there, you can go to one (or more) of several books when you're
ready to roll up your sleeves and get serious. There is "Fundamentals of
Interactive Computer Graphics" by Foley and Van Dam. It's well known so you can
usually just ask for it by the authors' names and people will know what you're
talking about. The implementation examples are either in pascal or a
pascal-like pseudo code, I don't remember which. Or, you can check out
"Computer Graphics" by Edward Angel. It was just published in January so unless
the newest edition of Foley and Van Dam is out, this one is the latest book on
the subject that I know of. It's gets pretty heavy into the math right away but
is clearly written so that even someone like me who never got past grade ten
can follow the discussion. The examples in this book are in C but are slanted
toward building an implementation of GKS on a clone. From what I can see,
though, GKS was designed to give clones sort of an Amiga-like graphics library,
so it might be fairly easy to simply substitute graphics.library calls for the
GKS stuff.
        For some solid examples in C of routines such as hidden line removal,
clipping, Bezier curves, B-Splines, shading, rotations, etc. you could try
"Graphics Programming in C", by Roger T. Stevens. Again, this book is aimed at
clones but just skip the first 158 pages where the author expounds on how to
re-invent a wheel the Amiga has been rolling on for five years.
        Any of these books used alongside "RKM Libraries and Devices" will give
you a pretty good head start on writing your own 3D stuff.

        "Graphics Programming in C"     $33.95  Granville Book Co.
        "Computer Graphics"             $53.10       "     "    "
        "3D Computer Graphics"          $34.50       "     "    "
        "Fundamentals of Interactive
                Computer Graphics"      $56.60 ****

**** this price is several years old so it's probably more by now

These books are more than likely available at Siliconnections too.
-Ron