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Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art

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PROCESSING: CREATIVE CODING AND COMPUTATIONAL ART<br />

718<br />

Figure A-13. Transform Example 2 sketch<br />

Lights, Camera<br />

This is a very cool part of the API, but it is also pretty complex. Using the near 30 functions<br />

in this section isn’t all that difficult, but underst<strong>and</strong>ing what’s happening underneath the<br />

surface, <strong>and</strong> ultimately being able to control stuff, is the complex part. There are many<br />

sophisticated concepts built into a 3D renderer, including a virtual camera, light models,<br />

surface/material properties, <strong>and</strong> matrix transformations, just to name a few. I taught 3D<br />

modeling <strong>and</strong> animation for a number of years prior to delving into the programmatic side<br />

of 3D, <strong>and</strong> I still find this stuff complicated <strong>and</strong> very challenging. If you are totally new<br />

to 3D (besides experimenting with <strong>Processing</strong>’s functions), I also recommend exploring<br />

some 3D modeling <strong>and</strong> animation tools, such as LightWave, Maya, 3ds Max, or CINEMA 4D.<br />

The Lights, Camera section is divided into four subsections:<br />

Lights<br />

Camera<br />

Coordinates<br />

Material Properties

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