ABSTRACT
Surfaces define the shape and contour of the 3D graphical objects and models. Surfaces in general are created from a grid of points using two splines along orthogonal directions. Depending on mathematical representations surfaces can be categorized as parametric and implicit. The chapter first takes a look how surfaces can be created and represented using parametric equations, then it discusses surfaces using implicit equations and how the nature of the surface depends on the parameters of the equations. Depending on creation process surfaces can be categorized as extruded and surfaces of revolution, both of which are discussed with examples and graphical plots. The chapter then takes a look how tangent planes of surfaces can be computed and provides methods for computing area and volume of surfaces. The latter part of the chapter deals with surface appearances namely how textures can be mapped on surfaces and how illumination models can be used to determines brightness intensities at a point on the surface. The chapter ends with a discussion on some commonly used built-in MATLAB functions for plotting 3D graphs.
