mirror of https://github.com/tLDP/LDP
558 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
558 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
<!doctype linuxdoc system>
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<!-- LinuxDoc file was created by <Dave Jarvis> Sat Jan 15 09:06:00 2000
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-->
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<ARTICLE>
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<TITLE>3D Graphics Modelling and Rendering mini-HOWTO</TITLE>
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<AUTHOR>
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<HTMLURL URL="mailto:dave@joot.com" NAME="Dave Jarvis">
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</AUTHOR>
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<DATE>v1.1, 27 March 2001</DATE>
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<ABSTRACT>
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Details download and installation instructions for a graphics rendering and
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modelling development environment using RedHat Linux.
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</ABSTRACT>
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<TOC>
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<SECT>
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Introduction<LABEL ID="Introduction">
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<SECT1>
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Preamble<LABEL ID="Intro-Preamble">
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<P>
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This document will guide you through the steps used to install and
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configure an environment for modelling and rendering three-dimensional
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graphics using Linux. In this section you will also find information
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in laymans terms about the required components and how they piece
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together. The installation section is purposely minimal; merely the
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quick and dirty steps needed to take to get up and running (if it
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doesn't work, more information is available). For those that want more
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information about the software components and what they do (in general),
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please continue reading.
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</P>
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<P>
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There are, at the minimum, three software packages you'll need in order to
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get up and running. These are as follows (in the order they are
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explained, not the order they are installed):
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</P>
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<P>
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<ITEMIZE>
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<ITEM>a graphics library;
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<ITEM>a graphics modeller;
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<ITEM>a graphics renderer.
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</ITEMIZE>
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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Modelling vs. Modeling<LABEL ID="Intro-Modelling">
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<P>
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The spelling <EM>modelling</EM> is Canadian. The spelling <EM>modeling</EM>
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is American. The original author of this document is Canadian. ;-)
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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Copyright Information<LABEL ID="Intro-Copyright">
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<P>
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Copyright © 2000-2001 Dave Jarvis
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</P>
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<P>
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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part, without fee, subject
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to the following restrictions:
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</P>
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<P>
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<ITEMIZE>
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<ITEM>the copyright notice above and this permission notice must be
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preserved complete on all complete or partial copies;
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<ITEM>any translation or derived work must be approved by the author in
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writing before distribution;
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<ITEM>if you distribute this work in part, instructions for obtaining
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the complete version of this manual must be included, and a means for
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obtaining a complete version provided;
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<ITEM>small portions may be reproduced as illustrations for reviews or
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quotes in other works without this permission notice if proper citation
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is given.
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</ITEMIZE>
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</P>
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<SECT>
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Background Information<LABEL ID="Background">
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<P>
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The content of this section exists only to describe, in general, the
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three main components required for three-dimensional modelling and
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rendering with a Linux-based system.
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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The Graphics Library<LABEL ID="Background-GL">
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<P>
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A graphics library consists of the most basic tools used for manipulating
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graphical images. Think of all the things needed to build a house: wiring,
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plumbing, wood, bricks, and such. The graphics library can be thought of
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as not these items, but rather the tools used create such items. After
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all, wire, metal tubes, planks, and bricks don't magically appear; rather
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they are created and formed as entities unto themselves. On a similar note,
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graphics don't magically appear on the screen -- typically they consist
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of lower-level graphics primatives (lines, rectangles, and individual
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pixels, for example).
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</P>
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<P>
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So the graphics library, then, can be thought of as the low-level graphics
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primatives used to build more complex objects (spheres, boxes, complex
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polygons, etc.). Those complex objects are then used to build even more
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complicated shapes and figures.
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</P>
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<P>
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The graphics library installed was the freeware implementation of OpenGL
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called <EM>Mesa</EM>.
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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The Graphics Modeller<LABEL ID="Background-GM">
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<P>
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Since the graphics renderer is, ideally, completely hidden from the end-user,
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we'll deal with that last (besides which, modelling is the next logical step
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in keeping with my house-building analogy). However, when it comes to the
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actual installation, a graphics modeller relies on the renderer already being
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installed.
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</P>
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<P>
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If the graphics library is akin to the tools used to build the tools used
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to build a house (!), then graphics modellers can be thought of as the
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tools used to build the blueprints for the house -- sophisticated
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blueprints, as modellers let you dictate exactly where the wiring, plumbing,
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wood panels, bricks, and forth are supposed to go. Furthermore, they
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let you pick the style of panelling and the colour of the bricks you
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desire.
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</P>
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<P>
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The graphics modeller installed was the freeware package called
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<EM>The Mops</EM>, which produces <EM>RenderMan</EM>-compatible files.
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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The Graphics Renderer<LABEL ID="Background-GR">
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<P>
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In keeping with the house-building analogy, the graphics renderer is then
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the construction workers. Once you have the blueprints and materials ready
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to go, you need something to actually build the house so it appears how it
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was designed. The graphics renderer is given information (i.e., the
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blueprints in the form of a <EM>RenderMan</EM>-compatible file, or
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equivalent) from the modeller to produce the final result.
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</P>
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<P>
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Just as the graphics modeller needs the graphics renderer before it can be
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installed, the renderer relies on the graphics library being installed
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beforehand.
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</P>
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<P>
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The graphics renderer installed was the <EM>Blue Moon Rendering Toolkit</EM>
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which uses <EM>RenderMan</EM> files.
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</P>
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<SECT>
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Installation Instructions<LABEL ID="Inst-Instructions">
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<P>
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Keep in mind that these are brief instructions; a quick summary of the more
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important details you'll find listed in README files for the corresponding
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software packages. It is, by no means, a substitute for actually reading
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those files (as they contain copyright information and other instructions
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not necessarily covered by this document).
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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Warning<LABEL ID="Inst-Warning">
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<P>
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First, let it be known that this document only covers how to get up and
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running using RedHat v7.0. Whenever given the choice as to which software
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package to download, please make sure it is compatible with the flavour
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of Linux you happen to be running.
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</P>
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<P>
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Second, please only send E-mail if you have information that would be
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helpful to other people who might read this document (such as explaining
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how to install other tools, pointers to other tutorials, missing steps
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grammar and/or speling mistakes and/or tpyos, etc.). If software
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doesn't compile, or you can't figure it out, please read its accompanying
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documentation. Please understand that your system may be completely
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different, and as such debugging problems via E-mail across the Internet is
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not a task anyone enjoys. ;-)
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</P>
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<P>
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Third, these are software packages that installed without any severe
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hitches (read: severe headaches). In the Related Links section, there
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are alternate software packages along side the ones covered below. Note
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that just because a given software package is not covered in depth does
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not mean it is any worse (or better) than those chosen to install.
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</P>
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<P>
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Good luck!
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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Download the Software<LABEL ID="Inst-Download">
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<P>
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Before you begin, you will need a web browser and Unix shell. If you
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don't know how to use a shell [bash, ksh, etc.], you're own your own
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(although instructions are given in both English and shell commands).
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</P>
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<P>
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Unless otherwise specified, all instructions are to be carried out as
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<TT>root</TT>.
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<P>
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<ENUM>
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<ITEM>Create a new directory <TT>/usr/local/archives</TT> for the packages:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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mkdir /usr/local/archives
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Download the following packages (in <BF>.tar.gz</BF> form)
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into the newly created directory (homepages are given, as
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well as links to download pages, and minimum software version):
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<ITEMIZE>
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<ITEM>
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<URL URL="http://www.mesa3d.org/"
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NAME="Mesa Graphics Library"> v3.4.1:
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<URL URL="http://www.mesa3d.org/download.html"
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NAME="www.mesa3d.org/download.html">
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<ITEM>
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<URL URL="http://www.bmrt.org/"
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NAME="Blue Moon Rendering Toolkit"> v2.6beta:
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<URL URL="http://www.bmrt.org/BMRTdownload/index.html"
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NAME="www.bmrt.org/BMRTdownload/index.html">
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<ITEM>
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<URL URL="http://www.informatik.uni-rostock.de/~rschultz/mops/"
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NAME="The Mops"> v0.42d:
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<URL URL="http://www.informatik.uni-rostock.de/~rschultz/mops/download.html"
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NAME="www.informatik.uni-rostock.de/~rschultz/mops/download.html">
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</ITEMIZE>
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</ENUM>
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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Install the Graphics Library<LABEL ID="Inst-GL">
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<P>
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Old versions of <TT>tar</TT> do not support the <TT>z</TT> argument.
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For those systems, leave out the <TT>z</TT> argument and use <TT>gunzip</TT>
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on the file before using <TT>tar</TT>.
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</P>
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<P>
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<ENUM>
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<ITEM>Change to the <TT>/usr/local/archives</TT> directory:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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cd /usr/local/archives
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Extract <EM>Mesa</EM> (substitute version number where required):
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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tar zxf MesaLib-3.4.1.tar.gz
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tar zxf MesaDemos-3.4.1.tar.gz
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Change to the <TT>MesaLib</TT> subdirectory:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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cd Mesa-3.4.1
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Configure, make, and install <EM>Mesa</EM> with the following sequence of
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commands:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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./configure; make; make install
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Edit <TT>/etc/ld.so.conf</TT>, and ensure you have a line that
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reads:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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/usr/local/lib
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Run the dynamic library configuration program:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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ldconfig
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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</ENUM>
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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Install the Graphics Renderer<LABEL ID="Inst-GR">
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<P>
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<ENUM>
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<ITEM>Return to the <TT>/usr/local/archives</TT> directory:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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cd ..
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Extract the <EM>Blue Moon Rendering Toolkit</EM> (substitute version
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number where required):
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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tar zxf BMRT2.6beta.linux-glibc2.tar.gz
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Change to the <TT>BMRT</TT> subdirectory:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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cd BMRT2.6
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Copy files to appropriate destination directories:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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cp bin/* /usr/local/bin/
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cp lib/lib* /usr/local/lib/
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cp include/* /usr/local/include/
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Make a directory for the shaders, ensure it is world-writable,
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then copy the shader files into it:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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mkdir /usr/local/shaders
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chmod 777 /usr/local/shaders
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cp shaders/*.sl* /usr/local/shaders/
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cp shaders/*.h /usr/local/shaders/
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cp examples/*.sl* /usr/local/shaders/
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cp examples/*.h /usr/local/shaders/
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Edit the system login profile (<TT>/etc/profile</TT> or equivalent),
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and add the line:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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export SHADERS=.:/usr/local/shaders
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Copy the <TT>.rendribrc</TT> file to each user's home directory.
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</ENUM>
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</P>
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<P>
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If anything goes wrong, please consult the <TT>README</TT> file
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that accompanies the <EM>Blue Moon Rendering Toolkit</EM>, or visit
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their website.
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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Install the Graphics Modeller<LABEL ID="Inst-GM">
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<P>
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<EM>The Mops</EM> may be installed on a per-user basis, or on a system-wide
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basis by root (or equivalent). In this example, it is installed using a
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non-administrative account, which should yield positive results. Note that
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the compile failed during the install (missing a C header file), so the
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precompiled binaries (compatible with RedHat v6.0, your system may vary)
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were installed, as follows:
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</P>
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<P>
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<ENUM>
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<ITEM>Change to one directory above where you'd like <EM>The Mops</EM> to
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reside. For example, if <TT>/usr/local/mops</TT> was desired, then issue
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the following command:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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cd /usr/local
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Extract the mops (substitute number where required), then change into
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its directory:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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tar zxf /usr/local/archives/mops-0.42d-BMRT26-linux.tar.gz
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cd mops
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Move the following files from <TT>/usr/local/mops/src</TT>
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to <TT>/usr/local/mops</TT>:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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mv src/crtmopssh.sh .
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mv src/mfio.so .
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mv src/mops .
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Copy the <TT>.mopsrc</TT> file to the home directory of each user
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wanting to run The Mops. For example, the user "jane" would need the
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following commands run:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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cp src/mopsrc /home/jane/.mopsrc
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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<ITEM>Create <TT>/usr/local/lib/mops</TT> and move the buttons and shaders:
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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mkdir /usr/local/lib/mops/
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mv buttons/* /usr/local/lib/mops/
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mv shader/*.sl* /usr/local/shaders/
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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</ENUM>
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</P>
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<P>
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If anything goes wrong, please consult the <TT>README</TT> and
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<TT>Setup.txt</TT> files that accompany <EM>The Mops</EM>, or visit
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their website.
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</P>
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<P>
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Log out from <TT>root</TT>. Log in as a regular user, and run
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<EM>The Mops</EM> as follows:
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</P>
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<P>
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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/usr/local/mops/mops
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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</P>
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<P>
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You may wish to create a subdirectory within <TT>$HOME/mops</TT> called
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<TT>models</TT> for saving 3D models.
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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Clean Up<LABEL ID="Inst-Clean">
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<P>
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Now that the installation is complete, you can remove from your
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system all files that you no longer require (substituting version
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numbers where required).
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</P>
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<P>
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<TSCREEN><VERB>
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cd /usr/local/archives/
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rm -rf BMRT2.6
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rm -rf Mesa-3.4.1
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</VERB></TSCREEN>
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</P>
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<P>
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Note: Be cautious when using <TT>rm -rf</TT> ... make sure you are
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in the correct directory, and the files and/or directories you wish to
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delete are present.
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</P>
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<SECT>
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Miscellaneous Information<LABEL ID="Misc-Information">
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<P>
|
|
Instead of a frequently asked questions section, here is information
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about some of the (almost embarassing) problems faced.
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</P>
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|
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<SECT1>
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Lighting<LABEL ID="Misc-Lighting">
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<P>
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The most frustrating problem, initially, was trying to figure out why
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everything was black -- and then how to actually light objects up. In
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these "virtual worlds" where you are modelling objects, the worlds
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are created from scratch. There is <EM>no light</EM> in the world until
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you actually put a light source in it! The light sources then shine
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a given direction, illuminating things in their path (according to
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the surface properties of the objects). Make certain that your light
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source is:
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</P>
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<P>
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<ENUM>
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<ITEM>pointing (rotated and translated) in the correct direction;
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<ITEM>intense enough to actually cast discernable lighting.
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</ENUM>
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</P>
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<SECT1>
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Tutorials<LABEL ID="Misc-Tutorials">
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<P>
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The most basic thing a person would want to do with modelling/rendering
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packages is position a sphere on a surface, give it some lighting, and
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see the result. A decent tutorial should describe that first.
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</P>
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<P>
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That said, <EM>The Mops</EM> has a wonderful
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<URL URL="http://www.informatik.uni-rostock.de/~rschultz/mops/tut1/tut1.html"
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NAME="first tutorial">.
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</P>
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<SECT>
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Related Links<LABEL ID="Links-Related">
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<SECT1>
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Graphics Libraries<LABEL ID="Links-GL">
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<P>
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<URL URL="http://www.mesa3d.org/" NAME="Mesa"> - An OpenGL-compliant
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Graphics Library.
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</P>
|
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<SECT1>
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Graphics Renderers<LABEL ID="Links-GR">
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<P>
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<URL URL="http://www.bmrt.org/" NAME="BMRT"> - The Blue Moon Rendering
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Toolkit.
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</P>
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<P>
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<URL URL="http://www.povray.org/" NAME="POV-Ray"> - The Persistence of
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Vision Raytracer.
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
<SECT1>
|
|
Graphics Modellers<LABEL ID="Links-GM">
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<URL URL="http://www.informatik.uni-rostock.de/~rschultz/mops/"
|
|
NAME="The Mops"> - A 3D modelling package that uses BMRT.
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<URL URL="http://www.blender.nl" NAME="Blender"> - Freeware modelling
|
|
and rendering suite of tools.
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
<SECT1>
|
|
Miscellaneous Links<LABEL ID="Links-Misc">
|
|
<P>
|
|
Here are some links that don't really fit into any other category, yet
|
|
are still worthwhile checking out if you are seriously considering
|
|
using your Linux computer as a 3D modelling and rendering machine.
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<URL URL="http://glide.xxedgexx.com/software.html"
|
|
NAME="3D Software for Linux"> - Contains most (if not all) links in
|
|
this document and then some.
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<URL URL="http://ntua.linuxberg.com/x11html/gra_3d.html"
|
|
NAME="3D Modelling Software for Linux"> - Links to software packages
|
|
chiefly related to modelling.
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<URL URL="http://linux3d.netpedia.net"
|
|
NAME="3D Modelling and Rendering using Linux"> - A comprehensive site
|
|
with articles and software that explains what this document summarizes.
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
<SECT>
|
|
Acknowledgements<LABEL ID="Acknowledgements">
|
|
<P>
|
|
I would like to extend a heart-felt thanks to the developers of the
|
|
software packages detailed in this document. The quality of their
|
|
products is of a commercial level, yet they keep the spirit of free
|
|
software alive. Well done!
|
|
</P>
|
|
|
|
</ARTICLE>
|
|
|
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|