"getting into" shader writing?

Harry

do we have a kind of thread for good resources on starting this kind of thing? GLSL, HLSL kind of witchcraft?
I've wanted to have a bash at it in the past and got some openGL shader editor, stuff like that, but i was honestly unsure of where to start. What's a good way to become initiated with shader programming?

SyncViewS

CG Academy offers two DVDs on HLSL shader creation by Ben Cloward.

HLSL Shader Creation 1: HLSL Fundamentals
HLSL Shader Creation 2: Light & Shading Models

Ben Cloward's web site is a great source of information too.

nVidia shaders IDE: FX Composer
ATI shaders IDE: RenderMonkey Toolsuite

Lumonix node based shader editor for 3ds Max: ShaderFX
Mental Images node based shader editor: Mental Mill Artist Edition

HLSL programming guide and full reference: Included into DirectX SDK downloadable from Microsoft. Unpack the .exe file and find the helps under ../DXSDK/Documentation/DirectX9/windows_graphics.chm

Farfarer

I'd recommend ShaderFX, a node-based DX shader creator plugin for Max.

Maybe not quite as powerful as writing it raw (or maybe even as the UE3 material editor) but it makes it very easy to throw together quick shaders and you can easily get a grasp of what can be done (and how it can be done) with shaders.

It also has a custom code block so you can write your own pieces of code and plug them in as a node.

chronic

online reference for hlsl intrinsic functions (most of which are shared with the other languages like cgfx)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee418346(VS.85).aspx

Slum

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Programmable-Graphics-Pipeline-Pro-Developer/dp/0735616531/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268066073&sr=8-1[/ame]

Good book. $2 used! Don't let the 9 confuse it, it's still relevant with todays DX8kajillion

kodde

I've been using Mental Mill so far. Node based shader authoring.
http://www.mentalimages.com/products/mental-mill.html

If you're a max user I think you can get your work into max with the free Artist Edition of the program.

kodde

Btw, has anyone seen Ben Clowards DVDs?
They seemed geared towards Max. Is it possible to follow these with another package such as Maya?

chronic

The Ben Cloward HLSL DVD's are great - just have to remember to keep in the back of your head the Y up vs Z up coordinate system differences between Maya and Max.

For Maya also - you can read the entire text of 'The Cg Tutorial' book by Nvidia on their developer website - its a great intro and covers the basics fairly well - as well as the GPU Gems books for more advanced topics

Harry

awesome links fellas. It really surprised me that a thread like this didnt seem to be already existing and high profile