What Is 3D?

Whether we can know and comprehend the kind of space we really live in is a philosophical question with no clear answer. Generally speaking, humans perceive space in three dimensions (height, width, and depth) and understand the fourth dimension as time.

Our goal in 3D graphics is to create a model of something with three dimensions and represent it to the user on some sort of 2D screen, such as a computer monitor or a head mount display. To do this, we first define a mathematical 3D space in which the locations and the shapes of objects can be described in terms of height, width, and depth within an arbitrary reference frame. This space can be thought of as model space.

When we want to see into this 3D space, we define a volume within ...

Get Java™ Media APIs: Cross-Platform Imaging, Media, and Visualization now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.