Mathematical Art: the art of raytracing, T. Chartier

Mathematical Art: the art of raytracing

by Tim Chartier

This page will introduce you to the world of raytracing. Soon, we will be using the geometry of 3 space to create eye-catching images.

Patience is a virtue. So, please wait for instruction to download the files listed below.

Downloading POV

In order to have a running copy of POV, visit http://www.povray.org (PC) or http://mac.povray.org (Mac) to download the current freeware copy of this code.

Lecture Materials

You will download the files in the following order:

first.pov - Your first raytraced image!
texture_ball.pov - A scene ready for experimentation with textures.
shape.pov - Stepping into shapes in POV
lamp.pov - Using our shapes to make a lamp
sordemo.pov - Surface of revolution code
crystal.pov - some advanced POV commands
Animating in POV

Sample Codes

Sample Shapes
Mandelbrot set on spheres as seen at the bottom of this page
Davidson text at top of this web page (change the text to say what you would like)
diff.pov - the constructive solid geometry example given in the lecture

Helpful Libraries

You may wish to view a palette of available colors.
You may also want to know what textures are available.

Finally for some inspiration, you may want to visit The Internet Raytracing Competition website for more some amazing stills and animations.