1INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
A raytracer and a rasterizer take very different approaches to rendering a 3D scene onto a 2D screen. However, there are a few fundamental concepts that are common to both approaches.
In this chapter, we’ll explore the canvas, the abstract surface on which we’ll render our images; the coordinate system we’ll use to refer to pixels on the canvas; how to represent and manipulate colors; and how to describe a 3D scene so our renderers can work with it.
The Canvas
Throughout this book, we’ll be drawing things on a canvas: a rectangular array of pixels that can be individually colored. Whether this canvas is shown on a screen ...
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