Foundations of 3D Computer Graphics: Real-Time and Ray Tracing

Have you ever wondered how video games render vast worlds in real time, or how animated movies achieve photorealistic lighting? Understanding the core mathematics and algorithms behind computer graphics is the first step to creating your own visual engines. In this text-based course, you will transition from understanding basic coordinate spaces to implementing classic rendering techniques, translating abstract math into working code. You will gain a deep understanding of both real-time rasterization pipelines and realistic offline ray tracing. What you'll learn: - Understand the core mathematics of 3D space, including vectors, matrices, and coordinate transformations. - Implement a basic ray tracer to simulate realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections. - Master the rasterization pipeline used in modern real-time rendering engines. - Apply shading models, including Phong and physically based rendering (PBR) basics, to simulate different material properties. - Configure camera models, projection matrices, and viewport transformations. - Explore modern graphics concepts such as shader programming and acceleration structures for ray tracing. You will begin with fundamental geometric concepts and coordinate systems before writing code to manipulate 3D space, eventually progressing to advanced lighting calculations and rendering pipelines. This course is designed for aspiring graphics programmers, game developers, and software engineers with basic programming knowledge but no prior computer graphics experience. Start your journey into the world of pixels, math, and rendering today.