Intended to provide direct and easy introduction to basic techniques involved, this book provides an excellent foundation, enabling readers to confidently move to more advanced texts. This second edition includes a new chapter on global illumination, and, with many illustrations and hands-on examples, Ian Stephenson: gives RenderMan, explains how scenes are described, illustrates (among other things) how to make the surface: color, lighting, shadows, and depth of field, using RIB and the C API, introduces the techniques involved in creating shaders, applying textures and using global illumination.