Introduction to Computer Graphics

1
Introduction to Computer Graphics

• Syllabus Handout
• Goal of Course
• Software - C/C, OpenGL
• Hardware - Unix, Windows, NT, Mac
• Who you are and what you want from the course

2
Definition of Computer Graphics

• Computer aided synthesis of pictures from
  non-pictoral form
• Subfields and related fields

Symbols Structures
Images Signals
3
Reasons for CG

• User can take in more information
• Tables versus graphs
• Easy to make changes
• Circuit design
• Can simulate
• Auto design
• Flight simulators - http//berkelium.com/OpenGL/fl
  ight.html
• Can do the impossible
• Not obey the laws of physics ILMs Come Home
• http//www.ilmcp.com/home_index.html
• Captain Kirk and USS Enterprise travel through
  spiral interior of DNA molecule

4
Motivations for Development

• Manufacturing industry
• CAD/CAM - http//www.cadsystems.com/profiles/0106_
  virtualplant.html
• 777 design http//www.boeing.com/commercial/777f
  amily/cdfacts.html
• Circuit design and layout - http//www.automations
  tudio.com/
• Flight Simulators
• Initial single biggest motivator for realism
• Training simulated crash vs. actual crash
• Simulate combat 5 missions
• Realism on ground simulators
• In plane goggles and runway 2000 feet up
• Low level flight cactus spines

5
More motivations

• Motion Picture Industry
• TRON, Star Wars, Twister, Perfect Storm, Jurassic
  Park III - http//cgw.pennnet.com/Articles/Article
  _Display.cfm?SectionArticlesSubsectionDisplayA
  RTICLE_ID108471
• Amazingly difficult to produce
• Toy Story
• SGI hardware
• Pixar software and production techniques
• James and the Giant Peach
• 14.5 min of CG animation
• 9 months of work by Sony Pictures Image Works team

6
More motivations

• Video Games - http//graphics.stanford.edu/
• Music Videos
• Morphing transform one object into another -
  http//graphics.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/alumni/tolis/
  personal/getpage.cgi?morph.html
• Presentation Graphics
• Videos, 35 mm slides, transparencies, reports
• Bar charts, line graphs, surface graphs, pie
  charts
• Computer Art
• Paintbrush programs
• Graphics tablet (digitizer)
• Stylus (brush shapes, sizes, colors)
• http//cgw.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cf
  m?SectionArticlesSubsectionDisplayARTICLE_ID1
  08502
• Commercial art
• Fine art

7
More Motivations

• Education and Training
• Computer generated models
• Simulators - http//www.virtual-u.org/
• Virtual education - http//online.phoenix.edu/
• Visualization
• Business visualization
• View data sets
• Scientific visualization
• Genomics - http//www.neurophys.wisc.edu/cozzi/2c
  b.html
• Computer vision - http//www.vasc.ri.cmu.edu/demos
  /facedemo.html

8
Why so Hard?

• Computationally expensive
• Still developing new algorithms for realism
• Regular objects easy
• Surface of revolution
• Surface texture
• Toys vs people
• Orange vs ping pong ball
• Texture mapping

9
Why so Hard, cont.

• Imperfections
• Blemishes woodwork in Toy Story
• Reflectivity
• Plastic versus rainbow
• Matt surfaces versus specular surfaces
• Motion
• Model by hand animators and key frames
• Model by physical equations
• Motion capture
• http//cgw.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cf
  m?SectionArticlesSubsectionDisplayARTICLE_ID1
  08465
• Fur, Fire, Fern Fun
• Dynamic systems - http//cgw.pennnet.com/Articles/
  Article_Display.cfm?SectionArticlesSubsectionDi
  splayARTICLE_ID108473
• grow the processes particle systems, etc