NOTE: This is a live document and is subject to change throughout the semester.
Computer graphics is a field of computer science that involves generating visual content. Applications of computer graphics includes modeling and animation software, CAD design software, image manipulation packages such as Photoshop or Illustrator, video games, medical visualisation tools and much, much more. In this class, we will cover some of the fundamentals of computer graphics; from transformations and camera projections, to light and shading models, to simulations that approximate phenomena in the real world. We will use C++ and OpenGL to explore practical, realtime, graphics programming while learning the theory behind it so you can apply it to other environments.
Class will be a mix of lecture and in class lab assignments. There will be many lab assignments that are designed to give you a better understanding of the topics taught in lecture. Code will be provided to get you up and running with the labs. You may work in groups of two or three. You must demo your labs to me or the TA in class or office hours and push your code up to Bitbucket in a repository you've shared with me prior to class on the due date. There will also be a few major programming assignments as well. The program assignments will take significantly more time than the labs and are designed to inspire individual creativity and self expression. I’ll try to keep lectures as short as possible to give you time in class to work on your assignments with me available to ask questions. All assignments and other resources for the class will be made available via Bitbucket:
https://bitbucket.org/msu-cs/csci-441-spring2020
Tuesdays and Thursdays 16:30 - 17:45 in Reid Hall 202.
David L. Millman, Ph.D.
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: Tue 12:00 - 12:50, Thurs 17:45 - 18:35, and by appointment
Bitbucket username: david_millman
Bitbucket email: [email protected]
Adiesha Liyanaralalage
Email: [email protected]
Office hours: Monday 10.00 - 11.00 BARH 259, Tuesday and Thursday after the class at the lecture hall.
Bitbucket username: adiesha
Bitbucket email: [email protected]
Textbooks are optional but recommended
- Fundamentals of Computer Graphics, 4th Edition, (FoCG in recommended reading below).
- OpenGL Programming Guide, 9th Edition (referred to as GL Guide in recommended reading below).
- Computational Geometry: Algorithms and Applications 3rd Edition (DutchBook in the recommended reading below, book is available online through the MSU library)
- OpenGL Reference Pages
- Learn OpenGL Website(referred to as LoGL in recommended reading below)
- C++ Documentation
The lecture schedule is subject to change throughout the semester, but here is the current plan. Assignments and due dates will be updated as they're assigned in class.
| Date | Description | Assigned | Due | Recommended Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/14 | Intro - applications of computer graphics | Lab 0 | FoCG Ch 1 | |
| 1/16 | C++ | |||
| 1/21 | Lin Alg, Coords | Lab 1 | Lab 0 | FoCG Ch 2 & 3 |
| 1/23 | Coords & Colors | FoCG Ch 2 & 3 | ||
| 1/28 | Graphics Pipeline / OpenGL Basics | Lab 2 | Lab 1 | LoGL "Hello Tri", GL Ch 1, FoCG Ch 17 |
| 1/30 | Transformations | LoGL Ch 6 |
| Date | Description | Assigned | Due | Recommended Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/04 | Affine Transformations | Lab 3 | Lab 2 | LoGL Ch 6 |
| 2/06 | Affine Transformations | LoGL Ch 6 | ||
| 2/11 | Projections | Lab 4 | Lab 3 | LoGL Ch 7 |
| 2/13 | Camera | LoGL Ch 7 | ||
| 2/18 | Basic Shading | Lab 5 | Lab 4 | LoGL Ch 10 |
| 2/20 | Phong Shading | LoGL Ch 10 | ||
| 2/25 | Triangulation Data Structs | Lab 6 | Lab 5 | LoGL Ch 12 |
| 2/27 | Texture Mapping | LoGL Ch 11 |
| Date | Description | Assigned | Due | Recommended Reading | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/03 | NO CLASS (Dave Sick) | Lab 7 | Lab 6 | LoGL Ch 11 | |
| 3/05 | Texture Mapping | LoGL Ch 11 | |||
| 3/10 | Review | Lab 7 | |||
| 3/12 | Midterm | ||||
| 3/17 | No class (Spring Break) | ||||
| 3/19 | No class (Spring Break) | ||||
| 3/24 | Midterm debrief | Proj 1 | |||
| 3/26 | No class ( |
||||
| 3/31 | Intro to Raytracing | LoGL Ch 4 | 1 - 2 - 3 of 3 |
| Date | Description | Assigned | Due | Recommended Reading | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4/02 | Intersections | LoGL Ch 4 | 1 of 1 | ||
| 4/07 | Intersections & Ray Tracing Algo | Lab 8 | Proj 1 | LoGL Ch 4 | 1 of 1 |
| 4/09 | Shadows, Shading, Mirrors & Boxes | LoGL Ch 4 | 1 of 1 | ||
| 4/14 | Spatial Data Structures | Lab 9 | Lab 8 | LoGL Ch 12 | 1 of 1 |
| 4/16 | Spatial Data STructures | LoGL Ch 12 | 1 of 1 | ||
| 4/21 | ACM lecture: Ed Catmul & Richard Chuang | Proj 2 | Lab 9 | ||
| 4/23 | Constructive Solid Geometry | 1 of 1 | |||
| 4/28 | TopoViz w/ Prof Bei Wang | 1 of 1 | |||
| 4/30 | Where to go next | 1 of 1 |
| Date | Description | Assigned | Due | Recommended Reading | Video | |------|---------------------------------------------|----------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|----------------------|-------| | 5/06 | Final - 16:00-17:50 | | | Proj 2 | |
Below are the topics that may be covered in the future:
Quaternions
PREREQUISITE: M 221 and CSCI 232. High resolution computer graphics. 3D graphics programming using a high level API. Vector mathematics for graphics. Graphics primitives. Curve and surface representations. Transformations using matrices and quaternions. Representing natural objects with particle systems and fractals. Shading and lighting models. Global illumination models. Color representations.
At the end of the course, students should be able to
- Develop basic graphical applications using OpenGL and C++
- Use graphics hardware to write realtime graphics applications
- Relate primitives from linear algebra to geometric transformations
- Implement common shading and lighting models for displaying 3D models
- Labs 40%
- Projs 20%
- Midterm 20%
Final 20%Due to logistical complexities associated with moving online, instead of a final, the remaining 20% of the grade will be the midterm grade or project grade, whichever is better.
Group discussions, questions, and announcements will take place using Brightspace. It is OK to send me an email if you have a question that you feel is not appropriate to share with the class. If, however, you send me an email with a question for which the response would be useful to the rest of the class, I will likely ask you to post it.
Collaboration IS encouraged, however, all submitted individual work must be your own and you must acknowledge your collaborators at the beginning of the submission.
On any group project, every team member is expected to make a substantial contribution. The distribution of the work, however, is up to the team.
A few specifics for the assignments. You may:
- Work with the other people on your team.
- Share ideas with other teams.
- Help other teams debug their code.
You may NOT:
- Share code that you wrote with other teams.
- Submit code that someone on your team did not write.
- Modify another's code and claim it as your own.
Using resources in addition to the course materials is encouraged. But, be sure to properly cite additional resources. Remember, it is NEVER acceptable to pass others work off as your own.
Paraphrasing or quoting another's work without citing the source is a form of academic misconduct. Even inadvertent or unintentional misuse or appropriation of another's work (such as relying heavily on source material that is not acknowledged) is considered plagiarism. If you have any questions about using and citing sources, you are expected to ask for clarification. My rule of thumb is if I am in doubt, I cite.
By participating in this class, you agree to abide by the student code of conduct. Please review the policy.
All assignments must be submitted by the start of class on the due date. Late assignments will not be accepted.
For descriptive assignments and reports, the submission should be typed up and submitted as a PDF (LaTeX suggested but not required). For code assignments, well organized source code with clear comments should be submitted.
Except for note taking and coding, please keep electronic devices off during class, they can be distractions to other students. Disruptions to the class will result in you being asked to leave the lecture.
If you have a documented disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation(s), you are encouraged to contact me and Disability Services as soon as possible.
On Thursday, March 26th and Friday, March 27th, MSU will be hosting the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). During those two days, campus facilities will be used to support this exciting event and students will have the opportunity to attend, be inspired by, and participate in this once in a lifetime learning and professional development opportunity.
Classes are scheduled as usual on March 23-25th of that week, and on March 26 and March 27 while the conference is in session, we expect you to attend the conference instead of coming to class. Many of your undergraduate colleagues from MSU will be joining students from across the country to present their research and creative projects and we encourage you to support them. Although regularly scheduled classes on 3/26 and 3/27 are canceled, you will NOT have this week off.
Note that it is free for MSU students to attend the Conference.
Requirements for March 26 and 27:
At the Conference, you will have the opportunity to observe the impactful research conducted by your peers at MSU and across the country. Please view attending the conference as an important extension of your learning in this course and I will do my best to make this experience a relevant part of the course. Therefore, there will be a short, graded assignment attached to attending conference sessions that will be included in the final grade for the course as part of Proj 1.