Introduction to Computer Graphics

Xiaoyu Zhang

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What is Computer Graphics?

Technically, its about the production, manipulation and display of images using computers Practically, its about movies, games, art, science, training, advertising, design,

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What is Computer Graphics?

Imaging = representing 2D images Modeling = representing 3D objects Rendering = constructing 2D images from 3D models Animation = simulating changes over time

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2D Graphics

Compositing in movies: images are created in layers, and then combined

Sprites in games: Images are built by overlaying characters and objects on a background

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Computer Graphics in Movies

High quality and artistry Big budgets Complicated models and high quality rendering

(adapted from MIT CS 6.837)

Video Games
Focus on interactivity Cost-effective solution Highly tuned for performance Drive the commodity graphics hardware technology

(adapted from MIT CS 6.837)

Computer Aided Design

Reduces the design cycle Drives the high-end hardware market

(adapted from MIT CS 6.837)

Medical Imaging

Emphasize precision and correctness Focus on presentation and interpretation of data Construction of models from acquired data

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(adapted from MIT CS 6.837)

Scientific Visualization

Handles vast amount of data Requires high-performance computation and graphics

About This Course

Broad introduction to Computer Graphics Algorithms Software Hardware 2D Graphics Drawing lines and curves, clipping, transformations 3D Graphics Viewing, transformations, lighting, texture mapping 3D Modeling: describing volumes and surfaces and drawing them effectively Programmable pipeline, shaders OpenGL Other interesting stuffs Raytracing, animation,
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Prerequisites

Good programming skills in C (or C++) Basic Data Structures

Linked lists Arrays

Simple Linear Algebra Some Geometry and Calculus

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Software Infrastructure

OpenGL for 3D rendering

Provides an API for drawing objects specified in 3D Included as part of Windows, available for Linux and other platforms

GLUT will be the GUI toolkit

Simple but limited

Support mouse and keyboards. Only popup menu, no widgets like buttons, scroll bar etc

You are welcome to use other interface toolkits, for example GLUI, SDL, FLTK, QT etc. See class web page under resources

Visual studio will be the programming environment for grading

Available on campus machines

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References

The OpenGL Programmers Guide (the Redbook)

The definitive references. Version 1.1 available online, the newest version 2 (edition 5) can be purchased.

Additional resources can be found on course webpage

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Introduction

Graphics System Raster Image Frame buffer Light & Color Graphics pipeline and hardware

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Basic Graphics System

Output device

Input devices
Image stored in FB
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Raster Images

Frame buffer stores an image as an array (the raster) of picture elements (pixels)

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What is a pixel?

A pixel is not... a box a disk a teeny tiny little light A pixel is a point... it has no dimension it occupies no area it can have a coordinate

A pixel is more than just a point, it is a sample

Digital Images

Computers work with discrete pieces of information How do we digitize a continuous image? Sampling!

Break the continuous space into small areas, pixels Use a single value for each pixel - the pixel value (intensity, color, ) No longer continuous in space or intensity

This process is fraught with danger, as we shall see

Picturing an Image as a 2D Function

An ideal image can be viewed as a function, I(x, y), that gives an intensity for any given coordinate (x, y). We could plot this function as a height field. This plot would lowest at dark points in the image and highest at bright points.

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Sampling an Image

An image is actually a sample of the function at the pixel locations. Pixels are stored in memory as arrays of numbers representing the intensity of the underlying function Insufficient sampling causes aliases
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Pixel Grids

Pixel Centers: Address pixels by integer coordinates (i, j) Pixel Center Grid: Set of lines passing through pixel centers Pixel Domains: Rectangular Semi-open areas surrounding each pixel center
Pi , j (i 1 / 2, i 1 / 2) ( j 1 / 2, j 1 / 2)

Pixel Domain Grid: Set of lines formed by domain boundaries

Pixel center grid

Pixel domain grid

Calligraphic and Raster Display

Calligraphic (Vector) Display Devices draw polygons and line segments directly: e.g. Plotters

Store images as collections of geometric primitives, e.g.

Lines, polygons, circles,

Called vector images for historical reasons Postscript (PDF) is the most famous vector image format

Raster Display Devices display images as a regular grid of samples (pixels).

Rendering requires rasterization algorithms to quickly convert geometric primitives into pixels.
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Display Devices: Monitor

Raster Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) are the most common display device

Capable of high resolution. Good color fidelity. High contrast (100:1). High update rates.

Electron beam scanned in regular pattern of horizontal scan lines. At each pixel in scan line, intensity of electron beam modified by the pixel value in the frame buffer.
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Color CRT

Color CRTs have three different colors of phosphor and three independent electron guns. Shadow Masks allow each gun to irradiate only one color of phosphor.

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LCD

Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs) becoming more popular and reasonably priced

Flat panels Flicker free Decreased viewing angle Random access to LCD cells. Electrical signals control the polarization of the LCD Cells Thus turn on or off the light passing through the panel using polarizing filters. Sub-pixel color filter masks used for RGB.
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Works as follows:

Raster Images and Framebuffer

Raster images are stored in the frame buffer. Frame buffers are composed of VRAM (video RAM). VRAM is dual-ported memory capable of

Random access Simultaneous high-speed serial output: built-in serial shift register can output entire scan line at high rate synchronized to pixel clock.

How big is the frame buffer?

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Sampling Issues

Can only store a finite number of pixels Resolution: Pixels per inch, or dpi (dots per inch from printers) Storage space goes up with square of resolution

600dpi has 4 more pixels than 300dpi

Can only store a finite range of intensity values Typically referred to as depth - number of bits per pixel

Directly related to the number of colors available

Also concerned with the minimum and maximum intensity dynamic range Both film and digital cameras have highly limited dynamic range The big question is: What is enough resolution and enough depth?

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True-Color Frame Buffers

Each pixel requires at least 3 bytes. One byte for each primary color: RGB. Each pixel can be one of 2^24 = 16 million colors Frame buffer size (1280 * 1024): 1280*1024*3 = 3.75 MB
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Indexed Frame buffers

Each pixel uses one byte Each byte is an index into a color map Color-map animations color-map can be changed Each pixel may be one of 2^24 colors, but only 256 color be displayed at a time Frame buffer size: (1280 * 1024): 1280*1024 = 1.25 MB
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Single Buffering Raster Displays

Display synchronized with CRT sweep Update frame buffer while its being scanned Generally, updates are visible

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Double Buffering

Adds a second frame buffer Swaps during vertical blanking Updates are invisible

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Elements of Image Formation

Objects Viewer (camera) Light source(s) Attributes that govern how light interacts with the materials in the scene Note the independence of the objects, the viewer, and the light source(s)

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Light & Color

Light is electromagnetic wave in the visible spectrum The frequency of light determines its color

Frequency, wavelength, energy all related

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Three-Color Theory

Human visual system has two types of sensors

Rods: monochromatic, night vision Cones

Need only match these three values

Need only three primary colors

Color receptors

There are three types of cones, referred to as S, M, and L. They are roughly equivalent to blue, green, and red sensors, respectively. Their peak sensitivities are located at approximately 430nm, 560nm, and 610nm for the "average" observer

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Trichromacy

By experience, it is possible to match almost all colors using only three primary sources - the principle of trichromacy In practical terms, this means that if you show someone the right amount of each primary, they will perceive the right color This was how experimentalists knew there were 3 types of cones
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The Math of Trichromacy

Write primaries as R, G and B

We wont precisely define them yet

Many colors can be represented as a mixture of R, G, B: M=rR + gG + bB (Additive matching) Gives a color description system - two people who agree on R, G, B need only supply (r, g, b) to describe a color
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Rendering
Rendering is the conversion of a 3D scene into a 2D raster image:

The scene composed of models in three space. Models are composed of primitives, supported by the rendering system. Models entered by hand or created by a program. The image drawn on monitor, printed on laser printer, or written to a raster in memory or a file. require us to consider device independence

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Rendering pipeline

Rendering can be implemented in either hardware or software Hardware (Graphics Accelerator)

Fast Interactive Lower in realism Slow Flexible High quality

Software

Rendering Primitives

Models composed of, or converted to a large number of geometric primitives. The only rendering primitives typically supported in hardware are

Points (single pixels) Line Segments Polygons (often restricted to convex polygons).

Modeling primitives include these, but also

Piecewise polynomial (spline) curves Piecewise polynomial (spline) surfaces Implicit surfaces (quadrics ) Other...

A software renderer may support modeling primitives directly, or may convert into polygonal or linear approximations for hardware rendering.

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Graphics Pipeline

Classically, ``model'' to ``scene'' to ``image'' rendering is broken into finer steps, called the graphics pipeline. Part of the pipeline often implemented in graphics hardware to get interactive speeds.

application program

display

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Vertex Processing

Much of the work in the pipeline is in converting object representations from one coordinate system to another

Object coordinates Camera (eye) coordinates Screen coordinates

Every change of coordinates is equivalent to a matrix transformation Vertex processor also computes vertex colors
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Modeling transformations

We start with 3-D models defined in their own model space (MCS)
Modeling transformations orient models within a common coordinate frame called world space (WCS) All objects, light sources, and the viewer live in world space Transformations are represented as matrices
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Viewing Transformation

Another change of coordinate systems Maps points from world space into eye space (VCS) Viewing position is transformed to the origin Viewing direction is oriented along some axis A viewing volume is defined for clipping

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Lighting

lighting is computed for each vertex to determine its color of each point in the scene. Lighting depends on

Light sources

Color, position, direction, shape

Surface properties

Projection

The projection step maps all of 3-D objects onto the 2D/3D screen space (NDCS).

Greatly simplified by the fact that viewing transformations map the eye to the origin and the viewing direction to -z axis. There are parallel projection and perspective projections

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Primitive Assembly
Vertices must be collected into geometric objects before clipping and rasterization can take place

Line segments Polygons Curves and surfaces

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Clipping

The right picture shows the view volume that is visible for a perspective projection window, called viewing frustum. It is determined by a near and far cutting planes and four other planes Anything outside of the frustum is not shown on the projected image, and doesnt need to be rendered The process of remove invisible objects from rendering is called clipping
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far

near

Rasterization

Also called scan conversion, converts primitives into fragments in SCS. Fragments are potential pixels Have a location in frame bufffer Color and depth attributes Vertex attributes are interpolated over objects by the rasterizer. Further operations may be applied to fragments

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Fragment Processing

Fragments are processed to determine the color of the corresponding pixel in the frame buffer Colors can be determined by texture mapping or other fragment processing Fragments may be blocked by other fragments closer to the camera

Hidden-surface removal
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The Programmers Interface

Programmer sees the graphics system through a software interface: the Application Programmer Interface (API)

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API Contents

Functions that specify what we need to form an image

Objects Viewer Light Source(s) Materials Input from devices such as mouse and keyboard Capabilities of system
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Other information

Programmable Graphics Pipeline

Application
Vertices (3D)

Vertex Vertex Processor Processor

Xformed, Lit Vertices (2D)

Assembly & Rasterization

Pixel Pixel Processor Processor

Final pixels (Color, Depth)

Video Memory (Textures)

CPU

GPU

Render-to-texture

Note:

Heres whats cool:

Vertex processor does all transform and lighting Pipe widths vary

Intra-GPU pipes wider than CPUGPU pipe Thin GPUCPU pipe

Can now program vertex processor! Can now program pixel processor!

Summary

Read textbook chapter 1. Try to download GLUT and run included examples. Next time: 2D Graphics

Rasterization and clipping Read textbook 7.1 7.10

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