History of 3D Visualization

We have all heard of Leonardo da Vinci, often cited as the ideal ‘Renaissance Man’, a master of science and art. Vinci was a polymath as well as a visionary artist, with a skill-set unmatched by most throughout history. His prolific work is elementary to any artist that wishes to create mathematically accurate interpretations of the real world. But Leonardo was not the only polymath of the Renaissance.  Filippo Brunelleschi has every right to be acclaimed not only as a Renaissance Man, but as the ‘father’ of 3d visualization and design.

Born in Florence in 1377, Brunelleschi was an architect, designer, and sculptor, but he is now also recognized as the first modern engineer, planner, and construction Project Manager.  It was the combination of all of these skills and his myriad interests that led him to successfully portray in two dimensions how our eyes perceive the three-dimensional reality in which we live.  He developed the principles of linear perspective which revolutionized art and opened the way for naturalistic portrayals of nature. Simply put, linear perspective is an artform that illustrates the effect of an object becoming smaller as the distance to the viewer becomes greater. Before Fillippo it was uncommon to see a realistic expression of the relative experience of distance between objects. At least in a way that was uniform throughout the image giving the observer the ability to suspend their imagination and see exactly what the creator intended.

But Brunelleschi took perspective farther, it wasn’t just a technique for artists, it was a tool that could be used to create real world architecture, to enable engineers and builders and planners to see in two dimensions what their three-dimensional concept would look like from multiple angles. It was, in the 15th century, what 3D computer rendering and design is in 2022.

Although the most practical use case for 3d visualization is with architecture and product design, it was video games and movies that made this industry into the multibillion dollar giant that it is today. Since the beginning of the history of 3d visualization, artists have tried to find ways to create in a 2d space what is experienced by people in 4d. As technology develops we are finding creative ways to offer the ultimate art experience by putting on a VR headset and stepping into a work of art or a world not bound by our local laws of physics. Now you can use 3D projection mapping so people can experience what it’s like to walk around in a painting by Vincent van Gogh.  From the computer monitor to the palm of your hand, the development of practical 3D printing in the 21st century, the 2D model can become a ‘real’ object that the designer can hold and feel. This alone has changed the game for anyone wanting to invent and manufacture something new.

Jump ahead to the 20th century and the heady early days of computing when we moved from awkward ‘Turing’ machines and vacuum tubes and began to experiment with sophisticated programming.  In the early 1960’s Ivan Sutherland invented a program called ‘Sketchpad’ but often nicknamed the ‘Robot Draftsman’ which revolutionized how computers were used and the history of 3D visualization was changed forever.  Previously, computers had been, effectively, advanced calculators to perform intricate mathematics for military and scientific purposes.  Sutherland, however, had the idea to use them to interactively render architectural concepts in 3 dimensions and designers and artists were brought into the active creations of these renderings.

It wasn’t just Ivan Sutherland, although he was the pioneer; other scientists, engineers, and computer experts in the field, now called CAD, for ‘Computer Aided Design’, poured out new programs, new concepts, and techniques. Other notable pioneers in the history of 3d visualization like Edd Catmull who developed Z-buffering, a texture mapping software, and Martin Newell, creator of the Newell Teapot which became the standard of 3d visualization, were just as important in pushing the industry beyond its limitations. The history of 3d visualization continued to be written when computers were taught ‘shading’ algorithms and texture mapping which made visual concepts even more realistic.

The first PC’s were introduced at the beginning of the 1980’s and by the 1990’s, computer modeling was more common, and less expensive.  Software became affordable and efficient, a dream could go from concept to 3D model in a matter of a few hours. Free, open-source software became available to the general public for the first time which lowered the barrier of entry for aspiring creatives and engineers. It was around this time that companies like Pixar became household names and the history of 3d visualization would be marked once again.

The early days of 3d visualization were primarily dominated by big industry and government that needed to design and build structures as well as develop military machinery in a seamless way. Now 3D visualization is done more and more for the purposes of creating art and entertainment. The video game boom of the 90’s saw companies  like Nintendo and Sony at the forefront of an industry, building virtual scenes and worlds and pushing the limitations of what could be done with 3d design.