Java 3D

History

I have been interested in Computer Graphic the whole of my career in computing. It probably started with punching text messages in paper tape using the computer at university and has continued even since.
The main problem has always been the lack of affordable software and powerful enough hardware. My work in the seismic industry has required graphics and for a long time we were developing our own graphics software. But, while work was two dimensional, my personal interest has always been with 3D.

Java

The first leap forward came with Java. During my career, it has been very important to keep right up to date. This has meant learning new computer languages and new operating systems at regular intervals.
Java interested me from the start as it created a powerful layer between the programmer and the operating system. Programming suddenly became orders of magnitude easier and much quicker to develop. Most of the software I developed changed to Java.

Java 3D

Java reduced the amount of coding required for creating Windows by a factor of ten and enabled the same software to be used with Windows and Unix. The next big leap forward came with the arrival of Java3D. It did almost the same to 3D programming. Before Java3D, OpenGL was the usual way to create 3D graphics. It took a lot of code to draw the simplest shape. Java3D changed all that.
To do what I wanted, I needed to create a library of basic shapes with Java3D that I could use to build more complex objects.

• Cone
• Cylinder
• Parabola
• Parabola
• Torus

The routines developed in Java3D allowed me to create more complex objects.

• Egg
• Menger's Sponge
• Inverse Menger's Sponge

The samples shown here do not show Java3D to its full potential. They are just screen shots from software that allows rotation, slide and zoom.
The next step was to attempt some real time animation. A walking robot seemed a challenge. I had the building blocks but how to walk. See Walking with Java.
We also need a Robot to animate.

• Constructing the robot
• Joining the Joints
• Animating the Joints

There is more to animation than just joints, water and smoke being some of the hardest. Animation for a game requires all of these.

• The Colossal Cave Adventure Game

Links

• See  for more of the stunning textures used in some of my images.
• Interests and links
• Home page