CP SC 405 / CP SC 605 Section 001 Computer Graphics Spring 2011 Tu/Th 2:00 - 3:15, McAdams 119, 3 credits
Professor: Donald H. House office: McAdams 319, phone: 656-2844 email: , hours: M/W 4:00-5:00 TA: Liang Dong, McAdams 404A, Web Page: http://www.cs.clemson.edu/~dhouse/courses/405	Schedule Students Programming Projects Project Results Resources and Documentation

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Course Catalog Description

Computational, mathematical, physical, and perceptual principles underlying the production of effective three-dimensional computer graphics imagery.

Prerequisites

CP SC 212 and MTHSC 311, or DPA 401, or permission of instructor

Course Objectives

This course will provide a solid foundation in 3D computer graphics. It will emphasize material relevant to the context of computer graphics, and digital effects. It is designed to train students in the foundation principles of 3D computer graphics, so that they will be able to

• understand the internal workings of commercial systems for the rendering of digital images from  3D models
• write their own software for 3D modeling and rendering
• use 3D graphics API's
• undertake creative work and research in 3D graphics

Students attend lectures, read, discuss, and complete quizzes on hand-out material. They also complete a series of programming projects designed to gradually expand their knowledge of the field of 3D graphics.

Programming Projects

All of the projects involve programming in C++ and require the use of graphics libraries. Work may be done on any computer supporting C++, and the OpenGL, and GLUT API's. However, before turning in an assignment, the program must be compiled and tested under the linux operating system, and a working Makefile must be provided.

In order to access files from the course home directory, and to turn in programming projects, all students will need to use their computer science account. All students enrolled in CS courses are automatically assigned CS accounts. You will need to login early in the semester to change your password, or the account may be expired. If you have problems logging in, send an email to helpdesk@cs.clemson.edu from your Clemson email account, or stop by 109 or 112 McAdams with a picture ID.

Text and Handout Materials

• Shirley, et al., Fundamentals of Computer Graphics, 3rd edition, AK Peters.
• House, 3D Computer Graphics, Course Notes (posted in sections on schedule page)
• Other materials linked on the Course Website

Reference Reading Material

• Shreiner, Woo, Neider and Davis, OpenGL Programming Guide, The Official Guide to Learning OpenGL, Versions 3.0 and 3.1 (7th Edition), Addison Wesley
• Foley, Van Dam, Feiner and Hughes, Computer Graphics Principles and Practice in C, 2nd Edition, Addison Wesley, 1995.

Course Outline

The course outline below covers the theoretical foundations of computer graphics.
Practical material on the use of the 3D graphics API OpenGL will be presented as required throughout the semester.

1. The Foundations of 3D Computer Graphics
• modeling
• light and shade
• viewing
• sampling
2. Storage of Images
• pixmaps
• greyscale and RGB color
• color systems
• color displays and output devices
• image file formats
• conversion between formats
3. Vectors and Vector Algebra
• what is a vector?
• additive operations
• dot product
• cross product
• solving geometric problems with vector algebra
4. Rendering I
• A raycasting renderer
5. Lighting and Shading
• lighting models
• Ambient, diffuse and specular reflection
• Phong shading model
6. Geometry
• Polygons
• Polygonal surfaces and data structures
• Implicit and parametric surface representations
• Blobbies
  
• Quadrics
  
7. Rendering II
• Global vs. local illumination
• recursive raytracing as a solution
8. Matrices and Matrix Algebra
• matrix representation
• matrix-vector multiplication
• the 2D and 3D affine transforms
9. Coordinate Systems and Camera Models
• coordinate system transformations
• representations for rotations
• camera models
10. Rendering III
• Screen space vs. Object space renderers
  
• Projection systems, orthographic and perspective
• Homogeneous coordinates
• Scan conversion (rasterization)
11. Geometry
• scene graphs and hierarchical modeling
• OBJ file format
12. Shading
• Bidirectional reflectance distribution function
• Procedural shading
• Texture maps and antialiasing
13. Modeling: Parametric Curves and Surfaces
    

• polynomial representation of parametric curves
• piecewise cubic curves
• biparametric surfaces
• subdivision surfaces
  

14. Rendering IV

• Ambient occlusion
  
• Photon mapping

Performance Evaluation

Undergraduate students:
Grading will be based on performance on a set of seven programming projects, ten quizzes, the final exam, and class participation, using the following percentage distribution:
• Programming Projects: 50%
• Quizzes: 30%
• Final Exam: 10%
• Class Participation: 10%

Graduate students:
Each programming project will include an extension involving advanced concepts. Completion of all regular requirements and this extension, on each assignment, is required for graduate students. Grading will be based on performance on a set of seven programming projects, seven advanced project extensions, ten quizzes, the final exam, and class participation, using the following percentage distribution:
• Programming Projects: 30%
• Advanced Project Extensions: 20%
• Quizzes: 30%
• Final Exam: 10%
• Class Participation: 10%

Programming projects: All seven programming projects will involve developing computer graphics software in C++, using the OpenGL and GLUT API's.
To be on time, work must be submitted before midnight of the due date. A late penalty of 1/2 point will be applied for each of the first seven days that a project is late. No project will be accepted beyond seven days from the due date.
Homework problems and extensions will be graded using the following scheme:

• 10   Meets requirements for grade of 9, but is particularly distinguished by elegance and efficiency of design and implementation
•   9   Meets requirements for grade of 8, and has a well thought out design and implementation
•   8   Meets all basic requirements, as determined by program execution
•   7   A solid effort, meeting most basic requirements but has some errors or shortfalls, as determined by program execution
•  ...
  
•   0   Completely unsatisfactory, or not submitted, or submitted beyond the 7 day late window

The final programming project average will be computed by averaging the student's seven project scores.

Quizzes: Each Quiz will have two questions and will be take home. Quizzes must be submitted by the start of class on the due date, and the class will begin by a discussion of the quiz problems. No quizzes will be accepted after the start of class. Quizzes will be graded as follows:

•   4   Both questions answered correctly
•   3   One question answered correctly, one question partially correct
•   2   One question answered correctly, or both questions partially correct
•   1   One question partially correct
•   0   Not a reasonable effort or not submitted

Quiz scores are interepreted as follows: 4 => 100, 3 => 87, 2 => 71, 1 => 50, 0 => 0. The final quiz average will be computed by averaging the student's top 8 of 10 quiz scores.

Final Examination: Students maintaining an average of 8.0 or higher on programming projects, and 3.0 or higher on quizzes may elect to waive the final exam. In that case, the grade will be the weighted average of the remaining 90 points. The exam will be comprehensive. It will consist of ten short answer and two essay style questions. Short answers will require at most a short paragraph, code segment, and/or a figure to answer. Essay questions will require at most two pages, including accompanying figures, to answer.

Class Participation: The class participation grade is the instructor's subjective judgement of the student's contribution to a lively classroom atmosphere. He will consider mainly active, informed participation in classroom discussions, quiz and homework reviews. Obviously, students not attending class are not contributing in this way.

Late Class Policy

Your instructor will make every effort to be in class on time, or to inform you of any delay or cancellation. In the unusual event that he should not arrive in class or send word by 10 minutes from the class start time, the class is officially cancelled.

Attendance Policy

Attendance in class is optional, but remember that a percentage of the grade is based on class participation.

Collaboration Yes, Plagiarism No

In this course, we want to encourage collaboration and the free interchange of ideas among students and in particular the discussion of homework and quiz problems, approaches to solving them, etc. However, we do not allow plagiarism, which, as commonly defined, consists of passing off as one's own ideas, words, writings, etc., which belong to another. In accordance with this definition, you are committing plagiarism if you copy the work of another person and turn it in as your own, even if you should have the permission of that person. Plagiarism is one of the worst academic sins, for the plagiarist destroys the trust among colleagues without which research cannot be safely communicated.

Copyright

Materials in this course are copyrighted. They are intended for use only by students registered and enrolled in this course and only for instructional activities associated with and for the duration of the course. They may not be retained in another medium or disseminated further. They are provided in compliance with the provisions of the Teach Act. Students should refer to the Use of Copyrighted Materials and “Fair Use Guidelines” policy on the Clemson University website for additional information:  http://www.lib.clemson.edu/copyright/.

Disability Access

It is University policy to provide, on a flexible and individualized basis, reasonable accommodations to students who have disabilities.  Students are encouraged to contact Student Disability Services to discuss their individual needs for accommodation.

Academic Integrity

As members of the Clemson University community, we have inherited Thomas Green Clemson’s vision of this institution as a ‘high seminary of learning.’ Fundamental to this vision is a mutual commitment to truthfulness, honor, and responsibility, without which we cannot earn the trust and respect of others.  Furthermore, we recognize that academic dishonesty detracts from the value of a Clemson degree.  Therefore, we shall not tolerate lying, cheating, or stealing in any form. In instances where academic standards may have been compromised, Clemson University has a responsibility to respond appropriately and expeditiously to charges of violations of academic integrity.

Please refer to the graduate academic integrity policy, approved March 26, 2007 by the Provost’s Advisory Council, at http://gradspace.editme.com/AcademicGrievancePolicyandProcedures#integritypolicy
Each graduate student should read this policy annually to be apprised of this critical information.