Overview of Computer Graphics

What is Computer Graphics?

• Computer Graphics: The use of computers to synthesize and manipulate visual information.

Why study Computer Graphics?

Applications

• Video Games
  
• Movies
  
• Animations
  
• Design (Computer Aided Design, CAD)
  
• Visualization
  
• Virtual Reality
  
• Augmented Reality
  
• Digital Illustration
  
• Simulation
  
• Graphical User Interfaces
  
• Typography (字体)
  

Fundamental Intellectual Challenges

• Creates and interacts with realistic virtual world
• Requires understanding of all aspects of physical world
• New computing methods, displays, technologies

Technical Challenges

• Math of (perspective) projections, curves, surfaces
• Physics of lighting and shading
• Representing / operating shapes in 3D
• Animation / simulation
• 3D graphics software programming and hardware

Course Topics

Rasterization (光栅化)

• Rasterization. Project geometry primitives (3D triangles / polygons) onto the screen. Break projected primitives into fragments (pixels).

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Gold standard in Video Games
(Real-time Applications, i.e. $>30\text{FPS}$)

Curves and Meshes (曲线和曲面)

• Curves and Meshes. How to represent geometry in Computer Graphics
  

Ray Tracing (光线追踪)

• Ray Tracing. Shoot rays from the camera though each pixel
  • Calculate intersection and shading
  • Continue to bounce the rays till they hit light sources

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Gold standard in Animations / Movies
(Offline Applications, i.e. $<30\text{FPS}$) (成像效果比光栅成像更好，但速度更慢)

Animation / Simulation (动画 / 模拟)

References

• GAMES101-现代计算机图形学入门-闫令琪
• course website: GAMES101: 现代计算机图形学入门
• homework: BBS 往期作业汇总帖
• Textbooks: Steve Marschner and Peter Shirley，“Fundamentals of Computer Graphics”

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• 计算机图形学与混合现实在线平台 GAMES: http://games-cn.org