The Definitive Computer Graphics Book guide?

Question

There are quite a lot of online resources and videos available to learn OpenGL / DirectX or computer graphics in general. However, I often struggle to get my mind around a topic when sources are given in such a way - it's hard to quickly find and revisit something in videos or just when information is splitted between different sources and not structured as a whole. It's especially complicated in computer graphics, which is a way too big topic.

In many software development areas there are so-called legality and morality guides - the books which are acknowledged by experts in the said areas. I wonder if such guides, i. e. well-written, widely acknowledged books, which don't promote any bad programming styles or practices, exist in the world of computer graphics? For any suggestion I'll appreciate if you also can specify approximate entry level for the given book.

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

The term "computer graphics" is a vast subject, and even though your question narrows it down a bit with OpenGL and DirectX it is still difficult to answer...

If you are looking for an academic introduction to the subject then the book "Computer Graphics Principles and Practices" is a good college level book that is very generic but won't discuss OpenGL or DirectX very much. (again this book is very academic in its approach to computer graphics) edit: The reason I recommend this book, is it is so filled with interesting facts and bits of knowledge that help students learn and understand CG and for some people greatly enhances their understanding of the subject

The "Red Book" (OpenGL programming guide) is still an excellent source. It was last updated in 2017, it has a good math primer, is focused on OpenGL and can usually be found used on the cheap.

These two books are a popular combo for introductions to computer graphics college courses.

For a more current series of books that are more game focused look into the "Foundations of Game Engine Development" series. Currently only two of the books are available, but the author has promised a 3rd and 4th edition. Both these books are API agnostic. But the shader code in them is easily adaptable to either OpenGL or DirectX.

For a very casual introduction look into the book associated with the "Learn OpenGL" website. That site is good enough that the authors of RTR4 reference it in their book. (and correct it in a couple places)

All this material will depend heavily on math skills, Geometry and Linear Algebra in particular. Getting those skills up to speed will greatly enhance how much you take away from any these books.

Answer 2

I decided to migrate this to meta, partly so that the question still exists in a way on the main site, and migration feels less punitive than outright closure.

Short version: After many years of experience on many sites, there has been a network-wide prohibition against "big list" type questions. Because they're just impractical to curate.

One option that's available if you have a good book recommendation for a topic, is to edit the Tag info wiki for the tag. For any tag, if you click on it to go to its page, then click "Learn more..." that takes you to the wiki, which can be edited (subject to approval by users with edit approval privilege).