C# 2010 All-in-One For Dummies®

Chapter 5. Creating Images

In This Chapter

• Understanding the System.Drawing namespace

• Finding out how the drawing classes fit into the .NET Framework

• Using System.Drawing to create a simple game application

No one is going to write the next edition of Bioshock using C#. It just isn't the kind of language you use to write graphics-intensive applications like shoot-'em-up games.

Still, C# packs a fair amount of power into the System.Drawing classes. Though these classes are somewhat primitive in some areas, and using them might cause you to have to write a few more lines of code than you should, there isn't much that these classes can't do with sufficient work.

The drawing capability provided by the .NET Framework is divided into four logical areas by the namespace design provided by Microsoft. All the general drawing capability is in the System.Drawing namespace. Then there are some specialized namespaces:

• System.Drawing.2D has advanced vector drawing functionality.

• System.Drawing.Imaging is mostly about using bitmap graphic formats, like .bmp and .jpg files.

• System.Drawing.Text deals with advanced typography.

In this chapter, I focus on the base namespace and cover only the basics of drawing in C#. (Discussing every aspect of drawing could easily fill an entire book.)

Getting to Know System.Drawing

Even at the highest level, graphics programming consists of drawing polygons, filling them with color, and labeling them with text — all on a canvas of some sort. Unsurprisingly, this leaves you ...