What is ray tracing ?

Briefly and roughly speaking, ray tracing is a computer graphics technique that builts up a realistic image of the scene starting from its geometrical specification (objects coordinates, surface chromatic properties, light sources,location of the point of view etc.).

The major feature is calculating the paths of light rays taking into account absorptions and reflections due to the properties of objects surfaces.

For example, the image you see on top of this page (you're using a graphical browser, aren't you?) shows the multiplying effect on the image of a sphere placed between two juxtaposed reflective planes (electronic glass).

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Persistence of Vision Raytracer

I started exploring the marvellous world of ray tracing when I discovered POV-Ray: Persistence Of Vision Raytracer.

POV-Ray is the second example of high value free software technology I came across until now.
The first one (chronologically speaking) is the free operating system Linux. Gloria in Excelsis.
Let me know if you are aware of other examples.

You can freely download POV-Ray for Windows at the official site: www.povray.org

You can use POV-Ray to render (i.e. process of adding realism to a computer graphics by adding three-dimensional qualities such as shadows and variations in color and shade) a scene you first created using a modeller, a graphical program which can design 3D objects (sometimes modellers, expecially the commercially available ones, come with an embedded rendering engine).
See below for some links to several 3D modellers available in the Internet.

Nevertheless, my advice is to start practicising ray tracing using the design capabilities of POV-Ray, before passing to complex 3D modelling.
I assure that the scene you can create using the C-like POV-Ray descriptive language can quickly earn you a whole bunch of enjoyment.

I bet you'll be impressed by the outstanding tutorial documentation included in POV-Ray package: it's very clear, full of examples and it will teach you a solid knowledge about ray tracing.

I'm follwing this course. I plan to put in this site the nice things I'm descovering using POV-Ray.

Click here to see my POV-Ray Experiments

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Some Links

You can get tons of links related to POV-Ray, even just searching out Geocities.
The interesting things I've found in the still small percentage of them I visited are here.

Modellers

Note: all the following modellers export in POV-Ray format.

Breeze Designer A good starting point for practising 3D modelling. All the common 3D design features (lathe, Bezier patch etc.) are provided. Animation features provided. Runs under Windows. Freeware.

The Moray Homepage Moray is a great shareware 3D modeller. It can design objects like Superquadrics, Bezier patches, heightfields, blobs, etc. It can even produce 3D text and has great texture creation features and many many other, all verbosely explained in the accluded documentation.
It runs under DOS (and, of course, DOS Prompt windows). See docs for restrictions.

POVLAB's Modeller Home Page Another nice shareware 3d modeller. I just took a quick look at it.

Rhino - NURBS modeling in Microsoft Windows A powerful modeller, heavy weight class. Maybe not so intuitive using it as others, but really complex creations are at hand. Nice HTML tutorials. The current release of the programs expires after some months. You have to download the new release after the expiration terms to keep on using it.

sPatch Ingenious in its simplicity: the 3D modelling achieved through discrete points lattice deformations. Rendering engine embedded. Freeware. A must-have!
POV-Ray related stuff

The POVRay Include Files Page Hey, a neighbour in Silicon Valley, Lakes. This guy provides us freely with special FX for POV-Ray scenes. Lens effects, explosions, fountains etc. I've not used them yet but I'll surely do. Worth of paying a visit. It's just around the corner.

Jeff's POV-Ray Page Great models of Star Wars and Star Trek space ships to be included in your POV-Ray scenes. Geocities strikes again!

The RayTracing Hub of the Apocalypse Cool space scenes for your astro-creations. Planet maps are available to be wrapped around spheres and create your weird Solar Systems. What if Earth were a Jupiter's satellite?

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Democratic implications of POV-Ray

No one can deny that we're living in a world where Appearence plays a major role.

Stunning images bomb us from the Internet, T.V., cinema, advertising posters, leaving us open-mouthed (that's often my case).

Computer geaphics gurus have their work to do, but sometimes I consider the fact that they're playing hard with my emotions in that cinema room, making me jump on my seat, while moving tons of pixels to make that T Rex snap its jaw.

Ray tracing coupled with a valuable and free software product like POV-Ray can give you the Power: the only limit is your fantasy and capability of creation.

I won't claim that anybody can turn magically into an Artist or find work at Industrial Light & Magic.

I'm talking about the deep satisfaction that you can experiment when you succeed in making "real" or at least "apparent" a mental construction that has a special meaning for you, no matter if it's a guitar chord, a new ice-cream taste or a non- trivial geometrical image.

Ray tracing can give a fast and simple way out to your mental images.

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