Physically Based Rendering From Theory to Implementation

"Physically Based Rendering is a terrific book. It covers all the marvelous math, fascinating physics, practical software engineering, and clever tricks that are necessary to write a state-of-the-art photorealistic renderer. All of these topics are dealt with in a clear and pedagogical manner without omitting the all-important practical details."--Per Christensen Senior Software Developer, RenderMan Products Pixar Animation Studios

"Intended for graduate or advanced undergraduate students in a computer graphics course, this large volume provides a comprehensive examination of complex rendering algorithms and demonstrates, through detailed examination of source code and example projects, the practical development and application of cutting edge image creation and processing software. This second edition is updated to reflect current technologies and contains updated information on relevant recent hardware improvements such as advanced multi-core processors as well as an increased focus on production graphics techniques. The text includes numerous illustrations, code examples, and formulas as well as recommendations for further reading and chapter exercises. Pharr is a principle engineer for Intel and Humphreys is an engineer for NVIDIA and a former professor of computer science at the University of Virginia."--SciTech Book News

"Pharr and Humphreys’ textbook is beautifully typeset, thoroughly indexed, unendingly cross-referenced, extensively illustrated, and printed in full color. Given its unconventional preparation style, this textbook stands out because of its descriptions of the tradeoffs involved in developing a complete working renderer. Although somewhat verbose at times, the discussions of design tradeoffs and performance considerations are an excellent complement to the more traditional coverage of the theory behind photorealistic rendering. C++ idioms sometimes get in the way of more elegant solutions, but their use is always reasonably justified. If you are just looking for a general introduction to image synthesis and rendering, standard graphics textbooks [2] might fit the bill; however, if you intend to develop your own renderer or try out new ideas, this textbook provides an excellent starting point."--Computing Reviews.com