Implementing a Tiny CPU Rasterizer
13 days ago
- #rasterization
- #tutorial
- #graphics-programming
- The author explains the concept of rasterization in OpenGL and how GPUs use it to render graphics.
- Motivated by curiosity, the author decides to implement a CPU-only 3D rasterization engine from scratch, documenting the process as a tutorial series.
- The tutorial begins with setting up a basic rendering environment using SDL2 for window management and CMake for project building.
- The author discusses the rationale behind creating a CPU rasterizer, highlighting educational and debugging benefits despite its inefficiency compared to GPU rendering.
- Initial steps include creating a window, setting up a draw buffer, and implementing a basic clear function to fill the screen with a solid color.
- The tutorial introduces a custom API design for the rasterizer, starting with basic data types like color4ub and vector4f, and a simple image_view structure.
- Performance metrics are introduced early, measuring frame time to understand the rasterizer's efficiency, with initial results showing promising speeds for simple tasks.
- The author outlines future plans to expand the rasterizer's capabilities, starting with drawing triangles in the next part of the series.