Comp 360
Intro to Computer Graphics
Overview Comp 360 Class information Class details
Lectures Labs/Homeworks/Exams
Overview
The good news is that Computer Graphics is fun: fun to look at, fun to use, and when done properly even fun to program and debug. There are also many fun applications of Computer Graphics, ranging from video games, to animated cartoons, to full length feature movies. If you learn Computer Graphics and Geometric Modeling, you might even get a job in a field where you can have lots of fun. Art and architecture, biomedical imaging, computational photography: whatever you can see, or whatever you imagine you can see, you can design with Geometric Modeling and you can display with Computer Graphics.
Broadly, the major themes of Computer Graphics can be divided into three categories: graphics, modeling, and mathematical foundations. Graphics consists of lighting and shading -- reflection and refraction, recursive ray tracing, radiosity, illumination models, polygon shading, and hidden surface procedures. Modeling is the theory of curves, surfaces, and solids -- planes and polygons, spheres and quadrics, algebraics and parametrics, constructive solid geometry, boundary files, and octrees, interpolation and approximation, Bezier and B-spline methods, fractal algorithms and subdivision techniques. The mathematical foundations are mostly linear algebra, but from a somewhat idiosyncratic perspective not typically encountered in standard linear algebra classes -- vector geometry and vector algebra, affine spaces and Grassmann spaces, affine maps and projective transformations, matrices and quaternions.
Unlike some Graphics courses at other universities, this course focuses on more advanced graphics, modeling, and mathematical methods -- ray tracing, polygon shading, radiosity, fractals, freeform curves and surfaces, vector methods, and transformation techniques. Low level graphics algorithms such as line drawing, polygon filling, and clipping are bypassed to give more time and space to high level graphics techniques such as ray-tracing, polygon shading, and radiosity.
I have written a book specifically for this course. I have kept the chapters for each lecture relatively short in the expectation that students will read them in full. Lots of exercises and projects are included to flesh out the text. Your job in this class will be to read and absorb the text, and to work on a few fun projects that will give you a feel for the excitement and the power of Computer Graphics. We hope you have lots of fun and that you learn a lot while enjoying this class.
Comp 360
This class will teach the fundamental techniques and mathematical background of computer graphics. The topics of this class include 2D fractals, affine/projective transformations, ray-tracing, shading, radiosity, and curves, surfaces and solids. These concepts form the backbones of modern-day graphical applications in computer gaming, computer animation, and scientific visualization.
Class
information
Prerequisites: You should be comfortable with the following concepts.
- Trigonometry
- Trigonometric Identities
- Law of Sines and Law of Cosines
- Vector Geometry and Vector Algebra
- Addition, Subtraction, Scalar Multiplication
- Dot Product, Cross Product, Determinant
- Vector Algebra
- Matrix Multiplication
- Calculus
- Differentiation
- Programming
- General familiarity with software design at least equivalent to Comp 212
Time and Location:
TTh 10:50-12:05, DH 1046
Instructor:
Dr. Ron Goldman
Office Hours: TTh 2:30-3:30pm
rng@cs.rice.edu
Teaching assistant:
Powei Feng
Office Hours: MW 2:00pm-3:30pm, or by appointment
powei.feng@rice.edul
Class details
Lectures
Each chapter of the text will correspond to roughly one lecture.
Class Discussion will be informal. You should try to answer all the questions at the end of each
chapter. Preparation is crucial. You should read the text BEFORE coming to class and submit a brief written summary with
questions you have about the chapter.
Attendance is MANDATORY. One point (per lecture) will be taken off of your final grade if you
- missed class without a valid excuse
- failed to submit a written summary (see below)
- neglected to do the Problem of the Day (see below)
Written Summary
The purpose of the written summary is to prepare you for the class discussion. The summary should be one typed page in grammatically correct English (see hints for good writing). The summary should cover:
- The main themes of the chapter
- What you learned from reading the text
- What you did not understand in the text
- Errors in the text
- Questions on the text and on the problems at the end of the chapter.
Problem of the Day
Each student will be assigned one problem for each lecture. The solution should be handed in at the beginning of class. Students should be prepared to present their work during class time.
Required Labs
There will be 4 programming assignments (or labs), each lasting between 2 and 3 weeks. You will work on these assignments in pairs. You may choose your partner, but you must work with a different partner on each lab. Graduate students must work with undergraduates on at least 2 of the 4 labs. If you have trouble finding a partner, send your labby an email and we'll try to pair you up.
Labs must be implemented in C or C++, using the OpenGL API for drawing. There will be a tutorial on C++ and OpenGL during the first week of classes (either Thursday or Friday in Symonds II at 7:00PM).
The labs involve a fairly significant amount of work: we estimate 0.5 to 1.5 hour of coding per person per day. This means over 80 hours of coding over the 15 weeks of the semester.
NOTE: You will need a PC Password for Symonds II (talk to the labby for instructions on obtaining a password).
Grading
- Exams/Homeworks: One midterm, and one final, probably take-home, and homework. 50% of final grade.
- Labs: 4 programming assignments. 50% of final grade.
- each approximately 2-3 weeks long
- Extra Credit Lab: Optional programming assignment at the end of the semester.
- For students who do poorly on some of the labs and exams
- For A students who wish to be exempt from the final exam
- Worth up to a full letter grade
- See programing projects at the end of various lectures
Late Policy
If you submit a programming lab late, your grade will be adjusted as follows:
where H is the number of hours after the deadline that the lab was submitted. You are aollowed to consult different sources, however, copying code is considered cheating and will not be tolerated.
Honor Code Policy
Exams are pledged, and you should discuss them with nobody except Dr. Goldman until everyone in the class has finished.
Once again you are encouraged to consult with each other on the programming projects, but sharing or copying code between groups is forbidden.
Disabilities
Any student with a disability requiring accommodations in this course is encouraged to contact Dr. Goldman after class or during office hours; all discussions will remain confidential. Additionally, students will need to contact Disability Support Services in the Ley Student Center.
Required Text
Each student must have a copy of the required text for the class:
An Integrated Introduction to Computer Graphics and Geometric Modeling -- R. Goldman, CRC Press 2009
Other References
- General
- Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice -- Foley, Van Dam, Feiner, Hughes
- Computer Graphics -- Hearn and Baker
- Fractals
- Turtle Geometry -- Abelson and DiSessa
- Fractals Everywhere -- Barnsley
- Freeform Curves and Surface -- Bezier and Lagrange
- Curves and Surfaces for Computer Aided Geometric Design: A Practical Guide -- G. Farin
- Pyramid Algorithms: A Dynamic Programming Approach to Curves and Surfaces for Geometric Modeling -- R. Goldman
All texts listed above are on reserve at Fondren Library.
Online References
- OpenGL References:
- OpenGL Programming Guide (The Red Book)
- OpenGL Reference Manual (The Blue Book)
- NeHe OpenGL Tutorials
- OpenGL Utility Toolkit (GLUT) API Reference
- C++ for Java Programmers
Syllabus
We will be covering the following topics in class this semester.
- 2-Dimensional Computer Graphics (Fractals)
- Turtle Graphics - 1.5 Weeks
- Affine Graphics - 1.5 Weeks
- Mathematical Methods for Computer Graphics
- Coordinate Free Methods - 1.5 Weeks
- Dot and Cross Products
- Determinants
- Vector and Matrix Techniques - 1.5 Weeks
- Affine and Projective Transformations
- Quaternions
- Coordinate Free Methods - 1.5 Weeks
- 3-Dimensional Computer Graphics (Realistic Rendering)
- Recursive Ray Tracing - 1 Week
- Surface Modeling - 1 Week
- Solid Modeling - 1 Week
- Polygonal Modeling - 1 Week
- Hidden Surface Algorithms - 1 Lecture
- Shading Algorithms - 1 Lecture
- Radiosity - 1 Week
- Freefrom Curves and Surfaces - 2 Weeks
- Other topics - As time permits
Lectures
| Date | Topic | Resources |
| 8/25 | Introduction | Slides and English Advice |
| 8/27 | Ch.1 Turtle Graphics | Examples |
| 9/1 | Ch.2 Fractals from Recursive Turtle Program | George Orwell on English Language |
| 9/3 | Ch.3 Strange Properties of Fractal Curves | |
| 9/8 | Ch.4 Affine Transformations | |
| 9/10 | Ch.5 Affine Geometry Ch.6 Fractals from Iterated Function Systems |
|
| 9/10 | Ch.7 Fixed-Point Theorem and Its Consequences | |
| 9/14 | Ch.8 Recursive Turtle Programs and Conformal Iterated Function Systems | |
| 9/17 | Ch.9 Vector Geometry: A Coordinate-Free Approach | |
| 9/22 | Ch.10 Coordinate Algebra | |
| 9/24 | Ch.11 Applications of Vector Geometry | |
| 9/29 | Ch.12 Coordinate-Free Formulas for Affine/Projective Transformation | Fall 2008 Midterm |
| 10/1 | Ch.13 Matrix Representations for Affine and Projective Transformations | |
| 10/6 | Ch.16 Color and Intensity Ch.17 Recursive Ray Tracing |
|
| 10/8 | Ch.18 Surfaces I: The General Theory | |
| 10/15 | Ch.19 Surfaces II: Simple Surfaces (A) | |
| 10/20 | Ch.19 Surfaces II: Simple Surfaces (B) | |
| 10/22 | Ch.20 Solid Modeling | |
| 10/27 | Ch.14 Projective Space versus the Universal Space of Mass-Points | Baseball Lecture |
| 10/29 | Ch.15 Quaternions | Quaternion Slides |
| 11/3 | Ch.15 Quaternions Continued | |
| 11/5 | Ch.22 Hidden Surface Algorithms | |
| 11/10 | Ch.23 Radiosity | Radiosity Slides |
Labs/Homeworks/Exams
Exams
| Due Date | Exams |
| Start of class, Thursday, 10/15 | Midterm |
You can find the old Fall 2008 Midterm in the Resources column for 9/27. Please note that this is a past exam and not this year's midterm.
Labs
- Lab Submission: All lab submissions should be done through email to poweif at gmail. Please remember to remove any binaries and submit only the source and compilation files. These include VC++ files such as .dll, .suo, .ncb, .user, and the debug/release folders.
- Project Files: All labs will be supplied with a CMakeLists.txt (for CMake) and a Visual C++ Express 2008 project file. Please make sure to turn in your project with either of these two files properly "configured" so that the TA will not have any problem compiling your project. Please also add a compilation note (how to compile, etc.) to your README.
- Mailing List: All students will be added to a mailing list. Questions concerning the projects can be posted to the list. The list address is comp360@mailman.rice.edu
| Due Date | Labs | Resources |
| Monday, 8/31, 11:59pm (Tutorial Wednesday, 8/26, Symonds II, 7:00pm) |
Lab 0 | Framework Tutorial Slides Old Tutorial |
| Monday, 9/14, 11:59pm | Lab 1 | Framework |
| Monday, 9/28, 11:59pm | Lab 2 | Framework |
| Monday, 10/26, 11:59pm Wednesday, 11/4, 11:59pm |
Lab 3 | Framework
Tips |
| Wednesday, 12/2, 11:59pm | Lab 4 | Framework |
This page is maintained by Powei Feng