Computer Graphics
Introduction to COMPUTER GRAPHICS
Definition: "Computer Graphics involves display, manipulation and storage of pictures and
experimental data for proper visualization using a computer.
The diagram illustrates the field of Computer Graphics and its three main sub-fields or applications:
Image Synthesis, Animation, and Image Processing. Computer graphics generally involves the
creation, storage, and manipulation of images and models using computers.
Image Synthesis: This involves generating images, which can be either realistic or non-realistic.
Animation: This focuses on generating motion, which can also be either realistic or non-realistic.
Image Processing: This deals with manipulating existing images.
Conceptual Framework for interactive graphics
Applications of computer Graphics:
Computer Graphics including digital images, animations, and interactive graphics used in various sectors
such as entertainment, education, scientific visualization.
Generic CG System Architecture
Display Controller:
Image generation task performed by display controller Takes input from CPU (host computer). As well as external input
devices (mouse, keyboard, etc.).
Image generation is a multi-stage process, involving lots of computation.
Video Memory
Display controller generates image in digital format (strings of Os and 1s).
The place where it is stored is video memory.
A (dedicated) part of the memory hierarchy of the system.
Typically part of the separate graphics unit (the VRAM in the graphic card)
Video Controller:
Video controller converts digital image to analog voltages.
It takes the stored image as input.
The analog voltages drive electro-mechanical arrangements, which ultimately render image on the screen.
Display screen contains picture elements or pixels. Arranged in the form of a grid.
The mechanism for exciting pixels is the responsibility of the video controller.
Takes as input digital image stored in video memory and activates suitable electro-mechanical mechanism
for pixels to emit light.
Pixel
A pixel is the smallest unit of a digital image.
Each pixel stores color information.
A screen pixel has three light components: Red, Green, Blue (RGB).
RGB are light sources, not paint colors (additive color mixing).
Each color intensity ranges from 0 to 255.
Black (0, 0, 0)→ no light.
White (255, 255, 255) → full light.
Other colors are formed by mixing RGB intensities.
Resolution
Resolution means total number of pixels in an image.
It is written as Width x Height.
Example: 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Higher resolution means better image clarity
………………………………
………………………………
………………………………..
PPI (Pixels Per Inch)
PPI means number of pixels in one inch.
Higher PPI gives sharper images.
Mobile phones usually have high PPI.
720
Aspect Ratio
Aspect ratio is the ratio of width to height.
It defines the shape of the image, not its size.
Common ratios: 1:1, 4:3, 16:9
Types of Graphics System
Broadly two types (based on the method used for excitation of pixels).
Vector Scan
Raster Scan
Graphics Pipeline:
Object Representation (1st Stage)
First, we need to define objects that will be part of image on display (1st stage).
Several representation techniques available for efficient creation and manipulation of images (scenes).
Objects are passed through the (subsequent) pipeline stages to get and render images on screen.
Modeling Transformation (2nd Stage)
Objects defined in their own (local) coordinate system.
Need to put them together to construct image, in its own coordinate system (world
coordinate)
This process, of putting
individual objects into a
scene, is known as modeling/
geometric transformations
(2nd stage)
Lighting (Illumination) (3rd Stage)
Once (3D) scene constructed, objects need to be assigned colors.
Color is a psychological phenomena linked to the way light behaves (i.e., the
laws of optics).
Need methods that mimic optical laws - done in the 3rd stage
Viewing Transformation (4th Stage)
Next task (4th stage) -map (colored) 3D scene to 2D device coordinate.
Similar to taking a snapshot of a scene with a camera.
Mathematically, snapshot taking involves several intermediate operations (form a pipeline in itself).
Hence, this stage is also called viewing pipeline.
First, we set-up a camera (also called view) coordinate system.
Then the world coordinate scene is transferred to the view coordinate system (known as the viewing
transformation).
From there, we transfer the scene to the 2D view plane
(the projection transformation).
For projection, we define a region in the viewing coordinate space (called view volume).
Objects inside the volume are projected.
Objects that lie outside are not projected.
The process of removing objects outside view volume is called clipping.
When we project, we consider a viewer position.
Some objects will be fully visible, some partially while some will be invisible, although all are within
the same volume.
In order to capture this viewing effect, the process of hidden surface removal (also known as the
visible surface detection) is performed.
After clipping and hidden surface removal are performed, scene is projected on the view plane.
From view plane, 2D projected scene (window) is transferred (transformed) to a region on the device
coordinate system (called viewport).
Known as window-to-viewport transformation.
Thus, 4th stage involves3 transformations (world coordinate to camera
coordinate, camera coordinate to view plane projection, view plane window
to view port).
+ 2 operations (clipping, hidden surface removal)
Scan Conversion (5th Stage)
Device coordinate is a continuous space -display contains discrete space (pixel grid).
Need to transfer viewport on the (continuous) device coordinate to (discrete) screen coordinate
system.
Called scan conversion (also called rasterization)- 5th stage
Object Representation – Basics
In computer-generated scene, we deal with objects of different shapes and sizes.
Can range from tiny snowflakes (for example) to complex characters.
A snowflake, for example, has an elegant shape.
Ideally, should not be represented with simple sphere.
Similarly, an animated character needs to be depicted with its associated complexities so
that it looks realistic.
To generate scenes with all these disparate objects, we need some way to represent them.
Any representation will not work.
How can we represent different objects with their characteristic complexities so that those
can be rendered realistically in a synthesized environment?
How can we have a representation that makes the process of rendering efficient (i.e., can
we perform the operations of the different stages of the pipeline in ways that optimize
space and time complexities)?
Categorization of Techniques
Broadly FOUR types.
Point sample representation.
Boundary representation.
Space partitioning.
Sweep representation
Point Sample Representation
To create a 3D scene, we can first capture raw data such as color, surface
normal vector and depth information of different points on the scene.
Captured with input sensors such as 3D range scanner, range finder, or computer
vision techniques.
Information captured in the form of points on the scene, with each point having
the information as attributes.
Those points can subsequently be processed to generate the scene.
Thus, our representation here is a set of raw data points of the scene, each with
some attribute values
Boundary Representation
Some methods represent an object by representing the individual object
surfaces.
The surface can be polygonal or curved.
Ex - a cube represented as collection of interlinked rectangles A-F.
Space Partitioning Representation
In some methods, 3D space occupied by the object is divided into several
disjoint (or non-overlapping) regions.
Any point inside the object lies in exactly one of the regions.
Space-partitioning representations are often created in a hierarchical way.
A space divided into sub-regions; same method recursively applied to each
sub-region
A common way to depict the regions is to organize them in the form of a tree,
called a space-partitioning tree.
Sweep Rep.
Two sweep representation techniques used in computer graphics.
Sweep surface:
In sweep surface, 3D surfaces are obtained by traversing an entity such as a
point, line, polygon, or curve, along a path in space in a specified manner.
Surface of revolution