Computer graphics

Computer graphics are graphics created with computers, and more general the
representation and manipulation of pictorial data by a computer.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Overview
• 2 History
• 3 Image types
o 3.1 2D computer graphics
 3.1.1 Pixel art
 3.1.2 Vector graphics
o 3.2 3D computer graphics
o 3.3 Computer animation
• 4 Concepts and Principles
o 4.1 Image
o 4.2 Pixel
o 4.3 Graphics
o 4.4 Rendering
o 4.5 Volume rendering
o 4.6 3D modelling
• 5 Pioneers in graphic design
• 6 The study of computer graphics
o 6.1 Computer graphics
o 6.2 Connected studies
• 7 Applications
• 8 References
• 9 Further reading

• 10 External links

[edit] Overview

The term computer graphics includes almost everything on computers that is not
text or sound. Today almost every computer can do some graphics, and people
have even come to expect to control their computer through icons and pictures
rather than just by typing.[1] The term Computer graphics has more meaning:

• the representation and manipulation of pictorial data by a computer

• the various technologies used to create and manipulate such pictorial data
• the images so produced, and
• a sub-field of computer science which studies methods for digitally
synthesizing and manipulating visual content.

Today much of our life is affected by computers, and by computer graphics.

Whether you see them on television, in newspapers, in weather reports or while at
the doctor's surgery, computer images are all around you. A well-chosen graph is
able to transform a complex table of numbers into meaningful results. Such
graphs are used to illustrate papers, reports, and theses, as well as providing the
basis for presentation material in the form of slides and overhead transparencies.
A range of tools and facilities are available to enable users to visualise their data,
and computer graphics are used in many disciplines. [2]

[edit] History

In 1960 William Fetter, a graphic designer for Boeing Aircraft Co., was credited
with coining the phrase "Computer Graphics" to describe what he was doing at
Boeing at the time. Fetter has said that the terms were actually given to him by
Verne Hudson of the Wichita Division of Boeing. In a 1978 interview Fetter stated,
that there had been a long-standing need in certain computer graphics
applications for human figure simulations, that as descriptions of the human body
are both accurate and at the same time adaptable to different user environment.
His early work at Boeing was focused on the development of such ergonomic
descriptions. One of the most memorable and iconic images of the early history of
computer graphics was such a human figure, often referred to as the "Boeing
Man", but referred to by Fetter as the "First Man".[3]

SAGE Sector Control Room.

The field of computer graphics developed with the emergence of computer

graphics technology. Projects in this field like the Whirlwind and SAGE Projects
helped to open the door to the computer graphics discipline by providing the CRT
as a viable display and interaction interface, and introduced the light pen as an
important input device. Continuing the development of the digital computer, the
TX-2 computer in 1959 at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory was key in the evolution of
interactive computer graphics. Their display, a lightpen, and a bank of switches
were the interface on which the first interactive computer graphics system was
based. The TX-2, integrated a number of man-machine interfaces that were just
waiting for the right person to show up to use them in order to make a computer
that was "on-line". With a simple cathode ray tube and light pen on the TX-2's
console and thought one should be able to draw on the computer, the Sketchpad,
and with it, interactive computer graphics were born. In the Lincoln Labs on their
TX-2 computer Ivan Sutherland's PhD work made him to be the "grandfather" of
interactive computer graphics and graphical user interfaces.[3]
The activities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology would help to shape
the early computer and computer graphics industries. It wasn't long before major
corporations started taking an interest in computer graphics. TRW, Lockheed-
Georgia, General Electric and Sperry Rand are among the many companies that
were getting started in computer graphics by the mid 1960's. IBM was quick to
respond to this interest by releasing the IBM 2250 graphics terminal, the first
commercially available graphics computer.[4]

The organizations, conferences, graphics standards, and publications in the field

of computer graphics emerged since end 1960s. In 1969 the ACM initiated a A
Special Interest Group in Graphics (SIGGRAPH) which interest ran from
simulation and modeling, to text editing and composition, to computer generated
art, cartography and mapping, computer aided design and, computer graphics
software and hardware. In 1973 the first annual SIGGRAPH conference was held,
which has become one of the compelling aspects of the organization. Over the
years, Panels and Courses were added, an Art Show became a mainstay, and
venues for emerging technologies were provided. Several related conferences have
occasionally co-located with SIGGRAPH, and an Education track became part of
the overall conference offerings.[3]

During the late 1970s, personal computers became more powerful, capable of
drawing both basic and complex shapes and designs. In the 1980s, artists and
graphic designers began to see the personal computer, particularly the
Commodore Amiga and Macintosh, as a serious design tool, one that could save
time and draw more accurately than other methods. 3D computer graphics
became possible in the late 1980s with the powerful SGI computers, which were
later used to create some of the first fully computer-generated short films at Pixar.
The Macintosh remains one of the most popular tools for computer graphics in
graphic design studios and businesses.

Modern computer systems, dating from the 1980s and onwards, often use a
graphical user interface (GUI) to present data and information with symbols,
icons and pictures, rather than text. Graphics are one of the five key elements of
multimedia technology.

3D graphics became more popular in the 1990s in gaming, multimedia and

animation. In 1996, Quake, one of the first fully 3D games, was released. In 1995,
Toy Story, the first full-length computer-generated animation film, was released in
cinemas worldwide. Since then, computer graphics have become more accurate
and detailed, due to more advanced computers and better 3D modelling software
applications, such as Cinema 4D.

Image types
[edit] 2D computer graphics
Raster graphic sprites (left) and masks (right)

2D computer graphics are the computer-based generation of digital images—

mostly from two-dimensional models, such as 2D geometric models, text, and
digital images, and by techniques specific to them. The word may stand for the
branch of computer science that comprises such techniques, or for the models
themselves.

2D computer graphics are mainly used in applications that were originally

developed upon traditional printing and drawing technologies, such as
typography, cartography, technical drawing, advertising, etc.. In those
applications, the two-dimensional image is not just a representation of a real-
world object, but an independent artifact with added semantic value; two-
dimensional models are therefore preferred, because they give more direct control
of the image than 3D computer graphics, whose approach is more akin to
photography than to typography.

[edit] Pixel art

Pixel art is a form of digital art, created through the use of raster graphics
software, where images are edited on the pixel level. Graphics in most old (or
relatively limited) computer and video games, graphing calculator games, and
many mobile phone games are mostly pixel art.

[edit] Vector graphics

Example showing effect of vector graphics versus raster graphics.

Vector graphics formats are complementary to raster graphics, which is the

representation of images as an array of pixels, as it is typically used for the
representation of photographic images.[5] There are instances when working with
vector tools and formats is best practice, and instances when working with raster
tools and formats is best practice. There are times when both formats come
together. An understanding of the advantages and limitations of each technology
and the relationship between them is most likely to result in efficient and effective
use of tools.
2D graphics techniques

2D graphics models may combine geometric models (also called vector

graphics), digital images (also called raster graphics), text to be typeset
(defined by content, font style and size, color, position, and orientation),
mathematical functions and equations, and more. These components can
be modified and manipulated by two-dimensional geometric
transformations such as translation, rotation, scaling.

In object-oriented graphics, the image is described indirectly by an

object endowed with a self-rendering method—a procedure which
assigns colors to the image pixels by an arbitrary algorithm. Complex
models can be built by combining simpler objects, in the paradigms of
object-oriented programming.

[edit] Direct painting

A convenient way to create a complex image is to start with a blank

"canvas" raster map (an array of pixels, also known as a bitmap) filled
with some uniform background color and then "draw", "paint" or "paste"
simple patches of color onto it, in an appropriate order. In particular, the
canvas may be the frame buffer for a computer display.

Some programs will set the pixel colors directly, but most will rely on
some 2D graphics library and/or the machine's graphics card, which
usually implement the following operations:

• paste a given image at a specified offset onto the canvas;

• write a string of characters with a specified font, at a given
position and angle;
• paint a simple geometric shape, such as a triangle defined by
three corners, or a circle with given center and radius;
• draw a line segment, arc, or simple curve with a virtual pen of
given width.

[edit] Extended color models

Text, shapes and lines are rendered with a client-specified color. Many
libraries and cards provide color gradients, which are handy for the
generation of smoothly-varying backgrounds, shadow effects, etc.. (See
also Gouraud shading). The pixel colors can also be taken from a
texture, e.g. a digital image (thus emulating rub-on screentones and the
fabled "checker paint" which used to be available only in cartoons).

Painting a pixel with a given color usually replaces its previous color.
However, many systems support painting with transparent and
translucent colors, which only modify the previous pixel values. The two
colors may also be combined in fancier ways, e.g. by computing their
bitwise exclusive or. This technique is known as inverting color or color
inversion, and is often used in graphical user interfaces for highlighting,
rubber-band drawing, and other volatile painting—since re-painting the
same shapes with the same color will restore the original pixel values.

[edit] Layers

The models used in 2D computer graphics usually do not provide for

three-dimensional shapes, or three-dimensional optical phenomena such
as lighting, shadows, reflection, refraction, etc.. However, they usually
can model multiple layers (conceptually of ink, paper, or film; opaque,
translucent, or transparent—stacked in a specific order. The ordering is
usually defined by a single number (the layer's depth, or distance from
the viewer).

Layered models are sometimes called 2 1/2-D computer graphics. They

make it possible to mimic traditional drafting and printing techniques
based on film and paper, such as cutting and pasting; and allow the user
to edit any layer without affecting the others. For these reasons, they are
used in most graphics editors. Layered models also allow better anti-
aliasing of complex drawings and provide a sound model for certain
techniques such as mitered joints and the even-odd rule.

Layered models are also used to allow the user to suppress unwanted
information when viewing or printing a document, e.g. roads and/or
railways from a map, certain process layers from an integrated circuit
diagram, or hand annotations from a business letter.

In a layer-based model, the target image is produced by "painting" or

"pasting" each layer, in order of decreasing depth, on the virtual canvas.
Conceptually, each layer is first rendered on its own, yielding a digital
image with the desired resolution which is then painted over the canvas,
pixel by pixel. Fully transparent parts of a layer need not be rendered, of
course. The rendering and painting may be done in parallel, i.e. each
layer pixel may be painted on the canvas as soon as it is produced by the
rendering procedure.

Layers that consist of complex geometric objects (such as text or

polylines) may be broken down into simpler elements (characters or line
segments, respectively), which are then painted as separate layers, in
some order. However, this solution may create undesirable aliasing
artifacts wherever two elements overlap the same pixel.

See also Portable Document Format#Layers.

[edit] 3D computer graphics

3D computer graphics in contrast to 2D computer graphics are graphics that use a

three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer
for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. Such
images may be for later display or for real-time viewing.

Despite these differences, 3D computer graphics rely on many of the same

algorithms as 2D computer vector graphics in the wire frame model and 2D
computer raster graphics in the final rendered display. In computer graphics
software, the distinction between 2D and 3D is occasionally blurred; 2D
applications may use 3D techniques to achieve effects such as lighting, and
primarily 3D may use 2D rendering techniques.

3D computer graphics are often referred to as 3D models. Apart from the

rendered graphic, the model is contained within the graphical data file. However,
there are differences. A 3D model is the mathematical representation of any three-
dimensional object (either inanimate or living). A model is not technically a
graphic until it is visually displayed. Due to 3D printing, 3D models are not
confined to virtual space. A model can be displayed visually as a two-dimensional
image through a process called 3D rendering, or used in non-graphical computer
simulations and calculations.

Process

The process of creating 3D computer graphics can be sequentially

divided into three basic phases: 3D modeling which describes the
process of forming the shape of an object, layout and animation which
describes the motion and placement of objects within a scene, and 3D
rendering which produces an image of an object.
[edit] Modeling

A 3D rendering with ray tracing and ambient occlusion using Blender

and Yafray
Main article: 3D modeling

The model describes the process of forming the shape of an object. The
two most common sources of 3D models are those originated on the
computer by an artist or engineer using some kind of 3D modeling tool,
and those scanned into a computer from real-world objects. Models can
also be produced procedurally or via physical simulation.

[edit] Layout and animation

Main article: Computer animation

Before objects are rendered, they must be placed (layout/laid out) within
a scene. This is what defines the spatial relationships between objects in
a scene including location and size. Animation refers to the temporal
description of an object, i.e., how it moves and deforms over time.
Popular methods include keyframing, inverse kinematics, and motion
capture, though many of these techniques are used in conjunction with
each-other. As with modeling, physical simulation is another way of
specifying motion.

[edit] Rendering

During the 3D rendering step, the number of reflections “light rays” can
take, as well as various other attributes, can be tailored to achieve a
desired visual effect.
 Main article: 3D rendering

Rendering converts a model into an image either by simulating light

transport to get photorealistic images, or by applying some kind of style
as in non-photorealistic rendering. The two basic operations in realistic
rendering are transport (how much light gets from one place to another)
and scattering (how surfaces interact with light). This step is usually
performed using 3D computer graphics software or a 3D graphics API.
The process of altering the scene into a suitable form for rendering also
involves 3D projection which allows a three-dimensional image to be
viewed in two dimensions.

[edit] Communities

There are a multitude of websites designed to help educate and support

3D graphic artists. Some are managed by software developers and
content providers, but there are standalone sites as well (such as
Renderosity). These communities allow for members to seek advice,
post tutorials, provide product reviews or post examples of their own
work.

[edit] Distinct from photorealistic 2D graphics

Not all computer graphics that appear 3D are based on a wireframe

model. 2D computer graphics with 3D photorealistic effects are often
achieved without wireframe modeling and are sometimes
indistinguishable in the final form. Some graphic art software includes
filters that can be applied to 2D vector graphics or 2D raster graphics on
transparent layers. Visual artists may also copy or visualize 3D effects
and manually render photorealistic effects without the use of filters. See
also still life.[citation needed]

[edit] Computer animation

An example of Computer animation which is produced in the "Motion capture"

technique
Computer animation is the art of creating moving images via the use of
computers. It is a subfield of computer graphics and animation. Increasingly it is
created by means of 3D computer graphics, though 2D computer graphics are still
widely used for stylistic, low bandwidth, and faster real-time rendering needs.
Sometimes the target of the animation is the computer itself, but sometimes the
target is another medium, such as film. It is also referred to as CGI (Computer-
generated imagery or computer-generated imaging), especially when used in films.

To create the illusion of movement, an image is displayed on the computer screen

then quickly replaced by a new image that is similar to the previous image, but
shifted slightly. This technique is identical to how the illusion of movement is
achieved with television and motion pictures.

[edit] Concepts and Principles

[edit] Image

In common usage, an image or picture is an artifact, usually two-dimensional, that

has a similar appearance to some subject—usually a physical object or a person.
Images may be two-dimensional, such as a photograph, screen display, and as well
as a three-dimensional, such as a statue. They may be captured by optical devices
—such as cameras, mirrors, lenses, telescopes, microscopes, etc. and natural
objects and phenomena, such as the human eye or water surfaces.

A digital image is a representation of a two-dimensional image using ones and

zeros (binary). Depending on whether or not the image resolution is fixed, it may
be of vector or raster type. Without qualifications, the term "digital image"
usually refers to raster images.

[edit] Pixel

This example shows an image with a portion greatly enlarged, in which the
individual pixels are rendered as little squares and can easily be seen.

In digital imaging, a pixel is the smallest piece of information in an image.[6])

Pixels are normally arranged in a regular 2-dimensional grid, and are often
represented using dots or squares. Each pixel is a sample of an original image,
where more samples typically provide a more accurate representation of the
original. The intensity of each pixel is variable; in color systems, each pixel has
typically three or four components such as red, green, and blue, or cyan, magenta,
yellow, and black.

[edit] Graphics

Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas,

computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain.
Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography,
numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings, or other
images. Graphics often combine text, illustration, and color. Graphic design may
consist of the deliberate selection, creation, or arrangement of typography alone,
as in a brochure, flier, poster, web site, or book without any other element. Clarity
or effective communication may be the objective, association with other cultural
elements may be sought, or merely, the creation of a distinctive style.

[edit] Rendering

Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model, by means of

computer programs. The model is a description of three dimensional objects in a
strictly defined language or data structure. It would contain geometry, viewpoint,
texture, lighting, and shading information. The image is a digital image or raster
graphics image. The term may be by analogy with an "artist's rendering" of a
scene. 'Rendering' is also used to describe the process of calculating effects in a
video editing file to produce final video output.

3D projection
3D projection is a method of mapping three dimensional points to a two
dimensional plane. As most current methods for displaying graphical
data are based on planar two dimensional media, the use of this type of
projection is widespread, especially in computer graphics, engineering
and drafting.
Ray tracing
Ray tracing is a technique for generating an image by tracing the path of
light through pixels in an image plane. The technique is capable of
producing a very high degree of photorealism; usually higher than that of
typical scanline rendering methods, but at a greater computational cost.
Shading

Example of shading.
Shading refers to depicting depth in 3D models or illustrations by varying
levels of darkness. It is a process used in drawing for depicting levels of
darkness on paper by applying media more densely or with a darker
shade for darker areas, and less densely or with a lighter shade for lighter
areas. There are various techniques of shading including cross hatching
where perpendicular lines of varying closeness are drawn in a grid
pattern to shade an area. The closer the lines are together, the darker the
area appears. Likewise, the farther apart the lines are, the lighter the area
appears. The term has been recently generalized to mean that shaders are
applied.
Texture mapping
Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture, or colour
to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D
graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in 1974. A texture map is
applied (mapped) to the surface of a shape, or polygon. This process is
akin to applying patterned paper to a plain white box. Multitexturing is
the use of more than one texture at a time on a polygon.[7]
[edit] Volume rendering

Volume rendered CT scan of a forearm with different colour schemes for muscle,
fat, bone, and blood.

Volume rendering is a technique used to display a 2D projection of a 3D discretely

sampled data set. A typical 3D data set is a group of 2D slice images acquired by a
CT or MRI scanner.

Usually these are acquired in a regular pattern (e.g., one slice every millimeter)
and usually have a regular number of image pixels in a regular pattern. This is an
example of a regular volumetric grid, with each volume element, or voxel
represented by a single value that is obtained by sampling the immediate area
surrounding the voxel.

[edit] 3D modelling

3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical, wireframe

representation of any three-dimensional object via specialized software. The
product is called a "3D model". It can be displayed as a two-dimensional image
through a process called 3D rendering or used in a computer simulation of
physical phenomena. The model can also be physically created using 3D Printing
devices. Models may be created automatically or manually. The manual modeling
process of preparing geometric data for 3D computer graphics is similar to plastic
arts such as sculpting.

[edit] Pioneers in graphic design

Charles Csuri
Charles Csuri is best known for pioneering the field of computer
graphics, computer animation and digital fine art, creating the first
computer art in 1964. Csuri has been recognized as the father of digital
art and computer animation by Smithsonian, and as a leading pioneer of
computer animation by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and The
Association for Computing Machinery Special Interest Group Graphics
(ACM-SIGGRAPH).
Donald P. Greenberg
Donald P. Greenberg is an internationally recognized pioneer in computer
graphics, Greenberg has authored hundreds of articles and served as a
teacher and mentor to many prominent computer graphic artists and
animators. Five former students have won Academy Awards for Scientific
or Technical Achievements, five have won the SIGGRAPH Achievement
Award, and many now work for Pixar Animation Studios. Greenberg was
the founding director of the National Science Foundation Science and
Technology Center for Computer Graphics and Scientific Visualization
when it was created in 1991. His former students include Robert L. Cook,
Marc Levoy, and Wayne Lytle.
A. Michael Noll
Noll was one of the first researchers to use a digital computer to create
artistic patterns and to formalize the use of random processes in the
creation of visual arts. His initial digital computer art was programmed
in the summer of 1962 at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ,
making him one of the earliest digital computer artists. In 1965 Noll along
with two other pioneers within the field of early computer art, Frieder
Nake and Georg Nees in Germany, were the first to exhibit publicly their
computer art. During April 1965, the Howard Wise Gallery in New York
City exhibited Noll's computer art along with random-dot patterns by
Bela Julesz.
Other pioneers

• Daniel J. Sandin
• Alvy Ray Smith
• Ivan Sutherland
• Steve Russell

[edit] The study of computer graphics

[edit] Computer graphics

A modern render of the Utah teapot, an iconic model in 3D computer graphics

created by Martin Newell in 1975.

The study of computer graphics is a sub-field of computer science which studies

methods for digitally synthesizing and manipulating visual content. Although the
term often refers to three-dimensional computer graphics, it also encompasses
two-dimensional graphics and image processing.

As an academic discipline, computer graphics studies the manipulation of visual

and geometric information using computational techniques. It focuses on the
mathematical and computational foundations of image generation and processing
rather than purely aesthetic issues. Computer graphics is often differentiated
from the field of visualization, although the two fields have many similarities.

[edit] Connected studies

Connected studies include:

• Scientific visualization
• Information visualization
• Computer vision
• Image processing
• Computational Geometry
 • Computational Topology
• Applied mathematics

[edit] Applications

• Computational biology
• Computational physics
• Computer-aided design
• Computer simulation
• Digital art
• Education
• Entertainment
• Graphic design
• Infographics
• Information visualization
• Scientific visualization
• Virtual reality
• Web design

Graphic design
Graphic Design

The term graphic design can refer to a number of artistic and

professional disciplines which focus on visual communication and
presentation. Various methods are used to create and combine symbols,
images and/or words to create a visual representation of ideas and
messages. A graphic designer may utilize typography, visual arts and
page layout techniques in varying degrees to produce the final result of
the project. Graphic design often refers to both the process (designing)
by which the communication is created and the products (designs) which
are generated.
Common uses of graphic design include magazines, advertisements,
product packaging and web design. For example, a product package
might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design
elements such as shapes and color which unify the piece. Composition is
one of the most important features of graphic design especially when
utilizing pre-existing materials or using diverse elements.