Pro WPF in C# 2008: Windows Presentation Foundation with .NET 3.5, Second Edition

Shapes, Transforms, and Brushes

When you were first introduced to WPF in Chapter 1, you learned that it's powered by an entirely new graphics model—one that handles prebuilt controls and custom-drawn graphics in the same way, uses hardware acceleration with ordinary two-dimensional drawing, and favors scalable vectors over bitmaps.

In this chapter, you'll learn how to draw basic shapes, how to assemble them into more complex graphics, and how to use fancy brushes for painting gradients and creating other image effects. You'll also see how you can use transforms to rotate, skew, and otherwise manipulate just about any piece of user interface, including WPF elements. Not only will this knowledge help you build graphically rich visuals for your ...