3D Donut Console Renderer

General Information

3D Donut Console Renderer is a small C++ console project that renders a rotating 3D donut using ASCII characters.
The project is inspired by A1k0n's donut from the internet and demonstrates basic 3D rotation, projection, and shading in a terminal window.

Technologies used:

• C++20
• Standard library only
• Console rendering

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How to Build and Run

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2022 (or compatible)
• Windows / Linux / macOS console

Steps

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/tiagzoc/DonutMath.git

2. Go to the .exe file :

Note: you can find it in the x64/Debug folder.

cd x64/Debug

3. Open a cmd and write this command:

Note: The list of all possible parameters is after this part.

.\DonutMath.exe -r 128

Note: You can also open the .sln with an IDE and modify the running parameters.

The donut will continuously rotate in the terminal until you close the window.

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How the Project Works

• Computes 3D coordinates of a torus (donut) in real-time.
• Applies rotation along X, Y, and Z axes.
• Projects 3D points onto 2D console coordinates.
• Calculates simple luminance for ASCII shading.
• Updates the console frame by frame for animation.

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What I Learned

• Implemented 3D rotation and projection in a minimal C++ project.
• Learned to render graphics in the console using ASCII.
• Practiced trigonometry, matrices, and frame-based animation.
• Explored performance optimizations for real-time console rendering.

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Possible Improvements

• Add color support in the console.
• Expand to render other 3D shapes.