Best way to learn about Direct X

Question

I want to begin looking at Direct X, but don't just want to try and throw myself into it. What are some good resources to get ones feet wet?

Answer 1

There are quite a few books on directX, but there is so much freely available information on the web these days, I would just jump right in there.

A good place to start is just to do a youtube search for DirectX Tutorials. In my opinion, this is a fun and interesting way to get started learning a new dev skill.

Answer 2

I highly recommend Toymaker's tutorials. Helped me greatly when I was first starting out with DX and was just as good as a reference later on.

The other thing to do would to set up some small projects that use DX that increase in difficulty as you go. If you'd like a starter list (from easy to hard):

• Compiling using DX libraries (I always remeber having trouble linking the libraries correctly in Visual Studio).
• Change background colour.
• See a model on-screen.
• Moving the model with input.
• A camera.
• Apply a texture to your model.
• Add multiple models to your scene.
• Add lighting.
• Create your a simple rectangle model and display a texture on it.

Get comfortable with all that and then have a look at shaders, advanced lighting and animation.