Rust Tiny Renderer

A 3D rendering engine written from scratch in Rust. This project parses and renders .obj 3D model files using a custom software rasterizer, outputting the final image as a .ppm bitmap.

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Features

• Renders 3D .obj models to .ppm images.
• Custom implementation of:
  • Vector math (Vec2, Vec3)
  • Line drawing and triangle rasterization
  • Back-face culling
  • Z-buffering (optional)
• Basic lighting with diffuse shading

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Example Output

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Project Structure

src/
├── main.rs                       # Entry point
├── graphics_api.rs               # Core image buffer, color representation, and file output
├── two_dimensional_draw_api.rs   # 2D primitives (lines, fills)
├── three_dimensional_draw_api.rs # 3D triangle drawing and z-buffering
├── wireframe_rendering.rs        # Loads and renders an example OBJ model
├── vectors.rs                    # Vec2/Vec3 implementations with vector math
├── helper_functions.rs           # Utility functions

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Usage

1. Build the project

cargo build --release

2. Run the renderer

cargo run --release

By default, this renders the model african_head.obj and outputs the image to out.ppm.

3. View the output

You can open .ppm files using image viewers like:

• ImageGlass
• GIMP
• ImageMagick
• Or convert to PNG/JPEG

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Input/Output

• Input: .obj model (default: african_head.obj)
• Output: .ppm image (default: out.ppm)

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Example: Triangle Rasterization

Each triangle is:

• Lit using a hard-coded light vector and Lambertian shading
• Back-face culled
• Converted to screen space
• Drawn using a scanline rasterizer

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Credits

This project was created as a Rust-based implementation of the Tiny Renderer tutorial by ssloy, following its lessons to build a 3D software rasterizer from scratch.

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Potential Future Improvements

• Support more complex shading (Phong, Gouraud)
• Texture mapping support
• Camera transformations
• Scene file input
• Parallel rendering