WELCOME TO ISE 2203

COMPUTER GRAPHICS
2022
Lecturer: Ms. Zindove
Email ID: szindove@hit.ac.zw
Office: W103
 COURSE STRUCTURE
• A practical course

• Final examination contributes 60%

• Coursework contributes 40%

• 2 Tests
• Practicals
• Assignments
• Quizzes
 LECTURE 1: INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER
GRAPHICS (CG)
At the end of this lecture students should:

1. Have a brief background on the history of Computer Graphics

2. Have an understanding of the Graphics System and the Graphics Architecture.

3. Understand the formation of images (Imaging System) both computer generated images is similar to traditional imaging
methods.

4. Understand the concepts of modeling and rendering

5. Introduction to OpenGL
 WHAT IS COMPUTER GRAPHICS ?
• The science and art of communicating visually via a computer’s

display and its interaction devices.

• The use of computers to create and manipulate pictures on a display device. It comprises of software techniques to create,
store, modify, represent pictures.

• An art of drawing pictures on computer screens with the help of programming. It involves computations, creation, and
manipulation of data.

• The entire process of creating computer generated imagery, from creating digital three-dimensional models, to the process of
texturing, rendering, and lighting those models, to the digital display of those renderings on a screen.

• Producing images using a computer.

 HISTORY OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS

• First created as a visualization tool for scientists and engineers, government and corporate research centers i.e. Bell Labs
and Boeing in the 1950s

• In the 1950’s graphics output were taken via teletypes, line printer, and Cathode Ray Tube (CRT).

• A picture could be produced using dark and light characters.

• 1960’s vector graphics and interactive graphics were introduced.

• Main problem encountered was the cost and inaccessibility of machines.

• Early 70’s, output started using raster displays, graphics capability was still chunky.

• In the 1980’s output were built-in raster graphics, bitmap image and pixel.

• In the 1990’s since the introduction of VGA, and SVGA, personal computer could easily display photo-realistic images
and movies.

• Present: AI image generating algorithms using deep learning e.g. DALL-E, MidJourney, Deep Dream
 THE TWO BASIC TYPES OF CG

Interactive Computer Graphics:

• Involves a two-way communication between computer and user.

• Observer is given control over image through the use of an input device.

• For example in video games (video game controller of the ping pong game helps user to send request to the computer)

• Computer modifies display appropriately upon receiving signal.

• Interactive CG is applicable in real life areas such as flight simulations for pilots training.

• Also, VR and AR.

 ……
Non Interactive Computer Graphics

• Also termed Passive Computer Graphics

• User does not have any kind of control over the image, the image is a product of a static stored program and will work
according to the instructions given in the program linearly.

• For example screen savers

 APPLICATION AREAS OF COMPUTER
GRAPHICS

• Applications of CG can be split into four main areas:

1. Display of information
2. Design
3. Simulation
4. User Interfaces
 1. Display of Information

• Classical graphics techniques emerged as a medium to convey information among people:

• Architectural information – computer based drafting programs
• For centuries, cartographers have developed maps to display celestial and geographical information – now maps can be
developed and manipulated in real-time over the internet.
• Presentation software for techniques such as generating plots, graphs etc.
• Medical diagnoses -analysis problems – CAT Scans, MRIs ultrasound etc.
 2. Design
• Design is an interactive process, there are two types of design problems: Overdetermined (poses no optimal solution) or
underdetermined (have multiple solutions).

• Engineering and Architecture are concerned with design

• Computer-aided Design (CAD) tools assist architectures and designers of mechanical parts with their design.
 3. Simulation
• Real-life examples: flight simulators, Command and conquer simulators, motion-pictures, virtual reality, and medical imaging.
 4. User interface
• Interaction with the computer via visual paradigm that includes windows, icons, menus, and pointing devices.
 A GRAPHICS SYSTEM
• A computer graphics system consists of the following components:
1. Input devices
2. Processor
3. Memory
4. Frame buffer
5. Output devices
 1. INPUT DEVICES
• Most graphic systems provide an interface for human-computer interaction.
• Varying degrees of freedom (DOF)
• One- or bidirectional interaction (haptics)

• Most common devices are keyboard, mouse, joystick, data tablet.

• Often called pointing devices, these devices allow the user to indicate a particular location on the display.
 2. PROCESSOR

• Graphics Card
• Dedicated vs. on-board
• Highly parallel computer (stream processing, SIMD)
• Instead of CPU, we have the GPU
 3. PIXELS AND THE FRAME BUFFER
• All graphics systems are raster-based.

• A picture is produced from an array (the raster) of picture elements (pixels).

• Each pixel corresponds to a small area of the image.

• Pixel, Smallest addressable screen element, smallest controllable element of a picture represented on the
screen.

• Pixels are stored in a part of memory called the frame buffer/ refresh buffer.

• This is a portion of RAM containing a bitmap that is used to refresh a video display from a memory buffer
containing a complete frame of data.

B: Detail of area around one

A. Image of a cat eye showing individual pixels
 Frame buffer – cont.
• Properties of frame buffer:
• Resolution – number of pixels in the frame buffer
• Depth or Precision – number of bits used for each pixel.
• Opacity – the measure of impenetrability to electromagnetic or other kinds of radiation, especially visible light.
 Pixels and the Frame Buffer- cont.
• Frame buffers may be implemented with Video Random-Access Memory (VRAM) or Dynamic Random-Access Memory
(DRAM).

• The depth of the frame buffer defines the number of bits that are used for each pixel and defines the number of colors.
 1-bit
 8-bit deep

• In full-color (RGB or true color) systems, there are 24 (or more) bits per pixel.

• A 24bit system can have up to 16, 777, 216 different colors.

• The resolution is the number of pixels in the frame buffer and determines the detail that you can see in the image.

• The conversion of geometric entities to pixel assignments in the frame buffer is known as rasterization, or scan conversion.
 5. OUTPUT DEVICES
• The dominant type of display used is the cathode-ray tube (CRT).

How does it work?

• Electrons strike the phosphor coating on the tube, light gets emitted.

• The direction of the beam is controlled by the two pairs of deflection plates.

• The output of a computer, digital, is converted to voltage, analog, across the deflection plates using digital-to-analog converter.

• Since the beam can be moved directly from one position to any other, sometimes this device is called random-scan or calligraphic
CRT.
 Output devices- cont.

• A typical CRT device emits light for only short time – a few milliseconds after the phosphor is excited by the electron beam.

• Human eyes can see a steady image on most CRT displays when the same path is retraced or refreshed by the beam at least 50
times per second (50 HZ)

• In a raster system, the graphics system takes pixels from the frame buffer and displays them as points on the surface of the
display.

• The rate of display must be high enough to avoid flicker. This is known as the refresh rate.

• There are two fundamental ways that pixels are displayed:

1. Non-interlaced: pixels are displayed row-by-row, at refresh rate of 50-85 times per second
2. Interlaced: odd rows and even rows are refreshed alternately. For a system operating at 60HZ , the entire display is
redrawn 30 times per second
 Output devices- cont.
• A typical color CRT has three different colored phosphors (red, green, and blue) arranged in small groups. (triads)

• A common style arranges the phosphors in triangular groups triads, each consisting of three phosphors (RGB)

• The shadow mask ensures that an electron beam excites only phosphors of the same color.
 Other output devices
• Display device / Monitor (raster based):
• LCD (liquid crystal displays)
• PDP (plasma display panel)
• OLED (organic light emitting diode)

• Printers (2D, 3D)

• Projection systems
 SUMMARY

• In this chapter we have dived into the introduction to computer graphics.

• Computer graphics is a method of image formation that should be related to classical methods – in particular to cameras.

• Our next step is to explore the application side of Computer Graphics Programming.
• We will be using the OpenGL API

THANK YOU !