Office hours: Tuesday, 4-5pm

What we will cover:

There are many courses that can teach you how to use commercial computer graphics packages and APIs. This course, in contrast, will teach you how to build 3D computer graphics from the ground up. This will include 3D modeling, animation, and rendering. At the end of the semester you will have built your own complete working real-time 3D computer graphics systems that runs in web browsers.

What you should already know:

If you are already familiar with JavaScript, that's great. If you are already familiar with Java, C++ or any similar high level language, you will not have any trouble picking up enough JavaScript to do this course.

Since this is a graduate course, I will assume that you are already an experienced programmer. If you are not, then I do not suggest you take this course, as there will be weekly programming assignments, and you would not be able to keep up.

Computer graphics uses a lot of matrix math and some calculus. During the semester we will go over all of the matrix and vector math that you will need.

Text:

Class notes (so make sure you come to class!), will be posted on-line after each lecture.

A useful (but not required) reference: Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice (3rd Edition)

Graders:

To be announced

Discussion list:

TBA

Rough outline of possible topics (this may change):

• Sept 2: Introductory lecture
  
• Sept 9: Introduction to shaders
  
• Introduction to ray tracing
  
• Procedural noise based texture
  
• More ray tracing
  
• Introduction to matrices
  
• Various
  
• Parametric shapes
  
• Introduction to splines
  
• Introduction to WebGL
  
• More WebGL
  
• A WebGL based modeler, part 1
  
• Using a high level modeler / renderer package
  
• Final projects and advanced topics, part 1
  
• Final projects and advanced topics, part 2
  

Setting up a homepage and access to computers:

Most of you have the homepage and computers thing already figured out. But just to make sure you have at least one way to show your work on line, here are some suggestions:

(1) Post your work using CIMS web hosting. Here's their web page on it:

http://cims.nyu.edu/webapps/content/systems/userservices/webhosting

https://nyu.service-now.com/servicelink/kb_search.do?id=041203716051606

http://www.nyu.edu/life/resources-and-services/information-technology/websites-storage-and-sharing/web-publishing/getting-started.html

To post assignments for this class, you should set up a subdirectory of your web site. Name this subdirectory "graphics". It should have a main "index.html" file, and that file should link to the various homework assignments. After the first class, you will send the grader an email, with subject line "graphics", telling him the URL.

• TRON LightCycle scene (MAGI, 1982)
• The Works (NYIT, 1984)
• Real time caustics in WebGL (Evan Wallace, 2012)
• World Builder (Bruce Branit, 2009)

Then we broke into small groups where people brainstormed about possible future computer graphic interfaces they might create, should Moore's Law continue for another few decades.

Your assignment for Wednesday Sept 9 is to:

• Create or choose a web site for this class, as per the instructions above;

• Send me an email with the title "GRAPHICS", giving me the URL of that web site.

• Post an essay on that page, telling me why you are taking the class, what you hope to get out of it, and any particular topics you would like me to discuss. You should call this essay "Assignment 0".

The notes and assignment for this class are here.

The notes and assignment for this class are here.

The notes and assignment for this class are here.

The notes and assignment for this class are here.

The notes and assignment for this class are here.

In class I implemented an example of using the matrix package to create a pair of walking legs. As you develop your own matrix object, you can try it with that example.

At the end of the class, we showed the classia animated short Gas Planet from 1992.

The notes and assignment for this class are here.

The notes and assignment for this class are here.

The notes and assignment for this class are here.

The notes and assignment for this class are here.

The notes and assignment for this class are here.