For almost three decades eminent computer graphicist Jim Blinn has coupled his scientific knowledge and artistic abilities to foster the growth of the computer graphics field. His many contributions include the Voyager Fly-by animations of space missions to Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus; The Mechanical Universe, a 52-part telecourse of animated physics; and the computer animation of Carl Sagan's PBS series Cosmos. In addition, Blinn, the recipient of the first SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award, has developed many widely used graphics techniques, including bump mapping, environment mapping, and blobby modeling.
Blinn shares his insight and experience in "Jim Blinn's Corner," an award-winning column in the technical magazine IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications in which he unveils his most useful graphics methods and observations. This book, a compendium of 20 of the column's articles, leads you through the "graphics pipeline" offering a wealth of tips and tricks. It explores common graphics problems, many of which have never before been addressed.
An invaluable resource for any graphics professional
In his entertaining and inspirational style, Blinn examines a variety of topics to help computer graphics software and application developers recognize and solve graphics programming problems. Focusing on geometry and the graphics pipeline, he shares:

    easy to understand explanations of difficult concepts gleaned from years of teaching
    interesting examples of tricky special cases that cause conventional algorithms to fail
    highly refined algorithms for clipping, viewing, lighting, and rendering

    easy to understand explanations of difficult concepts gleaned from years of teaching
    interesting examples of tricky special cases that cause conventional algorithms to fail
    highly refined algorithms for clipping, viewing, lighting, and rendering

Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann; 1 edition (July 15, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1558603875
ISBN-13: 978-1558603875

Editorial Reviews
Review
Jim Blinn presents an eclectic collection of 20 articles he originally wrote for Computer Graphics and Applications, an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) magazine aimed at graphics professionals. It's unapologetic about being a programmer's book, and it won't make much sense if you're not one (even less if you've forgotten your algebra). But if the shoe fits, and if you're going to be writing your own graphics routines, you stand to learn a lot from an acknowledged master.

Topics include a tour through the author's collection of circle-drawing algorithms, an introduction to animation concepts through a character called Blobby Man, musings on rendering platonic solids, detailed discussions of shadows, clipping and viewports, and investigations into the nature of pixel space. Many algorithms are presented in a generalized pseudo-code that could be easily translated into other languages. In addition to learning practical techniques, you'll also benefit from seeing Blinn's intelligent and offbeat approach to solving problems.
From the Back Cover
"[one of] the world's most renowned 3-D graphics pioneers...Blinn is a fascinating character"-Wired
Learn from the master
For almost three decades eminent computer graphicist Jim Blinn has coupled his scientific knowledge and artistic abilities to foster the growth of the computer graphics field. His many contributions include the Voyager Fly-by animations of space missions to Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus; The Mechanical Universe, a 52-part telecourse of animated physics; and the computer animation of Carl Sagan's PBS series Cosmos. In addition, Blinn, the recipient of the first SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics Achievement Award, has developed many widely used graphics techniques, including bump mapping, environment mapping, and blobby modeling.
Blinn shares his insight and experience in "Jim Blinn's Corner," an award-winning column in the technical magazine IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications in which he unveils his most useful graphics methods and observations. This book, a compendium of 20 of the column's articles, leads you through the "graphics pipeline" offering a wealth of tips and tricks. It explores common graphics problems, many of which have never before been addressed.
An invaluable resource for any graphics professional
In his entertaining and inspirational style, Blinn examines a variety of topics to help computer graphics software and application developers recognize and solve graphics programming problems. Focusing on geometry and the graphics pipeline, he shares:

    easy to understand explanations of difficult concepts gleaned from years of teaching
    interesting examples of tricky special cases that cause conventional algorithms to fail
    highly refined algorithms for clipping, viewing, lighting, and rendering