What mathematics should I take to have a chance in 3-D graphics?

I don't really want to do this as a job when I do get out of college, but I think it would be interesting just to go through the basics of 3-D programming. What I want is to know enough to make a basic yet decent application. Right now though, I'm in high school in an Algebra II class. I've taken geometry, but not to the point where I would call myself proficient or advanced in the subject. From what I've looked at, I need to have experience with matrices and vectors. Is there a class I should take in school to have experience with this? Also, is there any good online tutorials/books to learn the math involved?

Linear algebra are the magic words. Whether that exists at your high school depends on your high school, I suppose; it wouldn't be on the track to AP Calculus, really, which is where everybody seems to want to go so I suspect the odds are against you (unless you're at a magnet).

I think Dunn/Parberry's 3D Math Primer is a pretty good book to start from (I plan to use it if/when the next time I teach 3D graphics math/programming).

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Originally Posted by tabstop

Linear algebra are the magic words. Whether that exists at your high school depends on your high school, I suppose; it wouldn't be on the track to AP Calculus, really, which is where everybody seems to want to go so I suspect the odds are against you (unless you're at a magnet).

I think Dunn/Parberry's 3D Math Primer is a pretty good book to start from (I plan to use it if/when the next time I teach 3D graphics math/programming).

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Well, my school has a course called College Algebra. I've heard it's just a slightly harder version of Algebra II. Then after that it has Trigonometry and of course, Calculus.

College Algebra and Linear Algebra may have letters in common but they are not at all the same course. (You may well do a bit of linear algebra in a college algebra course, but you may not -- here there is 0 to very little in college algebra but some in pre-calculus (mostly just adding force vectors and the like; no transformation matrices or anything like that).)

Thanks for that, I'll look into that primer you suggested.

Mainly vectors and matrices. The physics side has few equations. The maths isn't really anything above high school maths.

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Originally Posted by jim_0

Mainly vectors and matrices. The physics side has few equations. The maths isn't really anything above high school maths.

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Woooh,..I like how you under-rate that but actually the vectors and matrices used in 3-D programming are not learn't in high school but somewhere in intermediate Calculus because here we are going to talk about things like partial differentiation , inverses , eigen values and vectors and all that kind of thing.

Linear algebra. Calculus.

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Originally Posted by Aslaville

Woooh,..I like how you under-rate that but actually the vectors and matrices used in 3-D programming are not learn't in high school but somewhere in intermediate Calculus because here we are going to talk about things like partial differentiation , inverses , eigen values and vectors and all that kind of thing.

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I learned those things in high school.

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Originally Posted by grumpy

I learned those things in high school.

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Yeah I also did but this is not the norm.

Most of the math for 3D graphics is readily available in books. Most of the math is done for you by other APIs. You should understand what the math does but understand most engines and frameworks will likely do it for you via method calls.

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Most of the math for 3D graphics is readily available in books.

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It would be hard to find any subject that isn't readily available in books :D.

I'd say geometry, as well. You have to get really good at visualizing shapes and drawing them and it's especially difficult because I think most 3D things are made with polyhedra and those are hard to draw.

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It would be hard to find any subject that isn't readily available in books .

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Quite true. I was trying to point the OP at Amazon but certainly failed in that aspect. :) I was also alluding to the fact that graphics is still kind of a black art. While there are algorithms available in books the best ones are probably still proprietary or being developed in some studio by some guy pulling 60 to 80 hour weeks.