Real-Time Rendering, Fourth Edition

Real-Time Rendering combines fundamental principles with guidance on the latest techniques to provide a complete reference on three-dimensional interactive computer graphics.

It will help you increase speed and improve image quality and learn the features and limitations of acceleration algorithms and graphics APIs. This latest fourth edition has been updated to include a chapter on virtual reality and augmented reality and covers new topics such as visual appearance, global illumination, and curves and curved surfaces.

It is for anyone serious about computer graphics who wants to learn about algorithms that create synthetic images fast enough that the viewer can interact with a virtual environment.

 

Reviews

"This is the book I recommend to everyone starting out in the industry. Not only is it a great reference on so many topics, each topic is covered in impressive depth with great references for further exploration." — Alex Vlachos, Valve

"Real-Time Rendering condenses literally thousands of cutting-edge papers, talks, and blogs into a single, easy-to-read volume presenting today's best practices, open problems, and promising state-of-the-art research. A key reference for beginners and experts!" — Chris Wyman, Principal Research Scientist, NVIDIA

"Since it was first published, Real-Time Rendering has been an invaluable companion to anyone who wants to keep up with this dynamic field. It combines rigorous coverage of the fundamentals with up-to-date discussion of the latest techniques. The fourth edition is required reading for anyone serious about computer graphics." — Matt Pharr, co-author of Physically Based Rendering: From Theory to Implementation

"I built our rendering engine and my career on what I learned in previous editions of Real-Time Rendering. This new edition is carefully updated to represent the current state of our field, and will remain the first resource I check when tackling a new challenge." — Patrick Cozzi, Principal Graphics Architect, Cesium, and co-editor of OpenGL Insights

"Real-Time Rendering is the first book I recommend reading to anyone who wants to learn real-time graphics. All the relevant knowledge in one place, and a joy to read, too!" — Aras Pranckevicius, Unity Technologies

About the Cover

: The cover shows an example of advanced real-time rendering technology used in the 2018 Star Wars™ short Reflections

, which includes real-time ray tracing of reflections and area light shadows computed on the GPU. The short was produced by Epic Games and built in Unreal Engine in collaboration with ILMxLAB and NVIDIA.

Tomas Akenine-Möller

is a professor in computer science with specialization in computer graphics and image processing at the Department of Computer Science, Lund University, Sweden. Over the past years, I've built my own computer graphics group, LUGG (Lund University Graphics Group).

Eric Haines currently works at NVIDIA on interactive ray tracing. He cofounded the Journal of Graphics Tools and the Journal of Computer Graphics Techniques. He is also the creator and lecturer for the Udacity MOOC Interactive 3D Graphics.

Naty Hoffman is currently Principal Engineer & Architect at Lucasfilm’s Advanced Development Group. Previously he was Vice President of Technology at 2K. Prior to that he was employed at Activision (working on graphics R&D for various titles, including the Call of Duty series), SCEA Santa Monica Studio (coding graphics technology for God of War III), Naughty Dog (developing PS3 first-party libraries), Westwood Studios (leading graphics development on Earth and Beyond) and Intel (driving Pentium pipeline modifications and assisting the SSE / SSE2 instruction set definition).

Angelo Pesce currently serves as a Technical Director for Activision Central Technology where he helps the Call of Duty studios with rendering R&D. His interest in Computer Graphics started in his teens by joining the demoscene community. In the past he has worked on rendering solutions for companies such as Milestone, Electronic Arts, Capcom and Relic Entertainment.

 Sebastien Hillaire is a senior rendering engineer pushing visual quality, performance and workflows within the Frostbite team at Electronic Arts. He obtained his PhD in Computer Science from the French National Institute of Applied Science in 2010, during which he focused on using gaze tracking to enhance virtual reality user experiences.

Michal Iwanicki currently works as a Technical Director in Activision Central Technology group, where he focuses on graphics related research. He worked on rendering and engine code for games in The Witcher, The Last of Us, and the Call of Duty series