COM6503: 3D Computer Graphics

1. Introduction

Realism in computer graphics can be considered in many

ways. Examples include photorealism (e.g. can we  distinguish a rendered image from a real image?),behaviour realism in a simulation (e.g. does that simulated human movement look real? does that human skin behave

realistically?), interaction realism (e.g. does that object behave correctly when dropped from a height? does that material deform when compressed?) and functional realism (e.g. is the functional behaviour clear irrespective of how the scene is rendered, for example, can I repair my appliance using those nonphotorealistically rendered instructions?)

This assignment is concerned with a specific aspect of photorealism: how to make rendered scenes look less pristine. Look around you at the surfaces and objects in your vicinity. You might see dusty and dirty surfaces, scratches and dents on objects and parts of the scene that look old through wear-and-tear. I’m sure you can think of other examples. But how are such appearances created in computer graphics renderings? The focus of this research study is on the use of texture-mapping approaches to achieve less pristine renderings.

Learning Outcomes

This assignment addresses the following module learning

outcomes:

• Identify and compare a range of techniques for increasing the realism of rendered scenes;

• Summarise and appraise information on a specific topic in computer graphics.

2. The report

Structure

• The report should start with a short introduction to the general topic and your reasoning behind the report structure.

• This should be followed by some further sections that structure the parts of your report. It is your decision what sections you will use to structure the report and what the order of these sections should be.

• The report should finish with a short conclusions section.

• The report must be illustrated as described in the next section.

Illustrations

These are an important part of the report – they must be integral to the discussion, not an afterthought. You will lose marks if these illustrations are not included. Their connectedness to the discussion will be considered in the

marking.