CS 450 / 550 -- Introduction to Computer Graphics

4 credits

Fall Quarter 2024

https://cs.oregonstate.edu/~mjb/cs550

Class Resources Page

Office Hours	Handouts	Classes	Projects

This page was last updated: November 21, 2024

Welcome to CS 450/550! I am so glad to have you here. I really enjoy getting to work wth this class. This will be an excellent chance for you to exercise your creativity. You will surprised by what you will be able to do!

Attention Ecampusers!

A special warm welcome to all you Ecampusers! It is exciting to have a cohort here that comes from all over the world. That makes you very special!

You will experience the exact same course that on-campus students experience: same material, same notes, same projects, same quizzes, same tests, and same Zoom Office Hours. There are recorded videos that go along with the notes (they are called "LV" for "Lecture Videos" and you will see them in the same table that has links to the notes).

This course is asynchronous and somewhat flexible, but not self-paced. Our schedule for course content and the due dates provide guardrails for how you need to interact with the material.

Like I do whenever I have Ecampus students, I will do a Live Lecture on Zoom every week so that you can hear a discussion of the topics with the chance to ask live questions. This term, that day and time is Wednesdays 2:00 PM Pacific Time. This starts Wednesday, September 25.

On-campus Graphicsers are always encouraged to come as well.

My Zoom-room is: https://oregonstate.zoom.us/j/8340727662?pwd=b01tZ0hJUzdHNUtrdTRqSkdwbG4zdz09

These Live Lectures will be recorded so that if you miss them, you can catch them later.

During the LL, you can ask questions by speaking or by typing into the Zoom Chat. I will answer questions during the LL and in a document that I will post in the same place on this Class Resources Page that I post the recorded LL videos.

Thanks, Ecampusers, for being here!

Graphics Thinking Comes First

The big goal of this class is to develop your "graphical thinking", that is, how to go from an idea in your head to actually getting the pixels on the screen. To get you to that state as smoothly as possible, we will start by using a part of OpenGL that has been "deprecated", but is easier to learn and apply. (In OpenGL, "deprecated" doesn't mean "gone away", it means "not recommended for efficiency reasons".) Later on, you will learn the recommended (i.e., efficient) ways of using OpenGL.

Looking Glass Quilts

To see an academic year calendar, click here.

All students are subject to the registration and refund deadlines as stated in the Office of the Registrar Academic Calendar.

Stuff You Should Be Interested In:

• Click here to see examples of Keytime animations that your classmates did!

• Attention Mac users! Before working on Project #6, please download (right-click) these two files and place them in your project folder: glslprogram.h , glslprogram.cpp If you are a Windows or Linux user, you can use the version of these files you already have or you can use these. Shouldn't matter.

• Warning! A line got left out of the setlight.cpp file in your sample folders. It's in the notes, but not in the file. In the setlight.cpp file, be sure the SetPointLight( ) function includes the line: glLightf( ilight, GL_SPOT_CUTOFF, 180. );

• All weekly quizzes will open at 12:01 AM PT on Friday of that week and will be due Sunday 11:59 PM PT. There are no make-ups if you forget to take the quiz, so I recommend you take the quiz on Friday before the quicksand of the weekend starts! There is no Quiz #9 (the week of Thanksgiving).

• To help you plan, Test #2 (which is a second test, not a comprehensive final) will be taken on Canvas in a 60-minute interval of your own choosing during December 11-14 (Finals Week). It will open at 12:01 AM PT on Wednesday December 11 and will close at 11:59 PM PT on Saturday, December 14. The test will be open notes.

• Oregon State University's policy on free expression and academic freedom can be found here. It is short, but is an interesting read. I recommend it.

• OSU has a student 3D Printing Club. Find out more about it here: https://groups.engr.oregonstate.edu/3dpc/home

• Check this out! Someone is using 3D graphics to create a 4D golf game. Here and here.

• For some reason, trying to make your Kaltura video Unlisted from within Canvas is a losing game. Try this instead:
  1. Go to http://media.oregonstate.edu
  2. Login
  3. Go to My Media
  4. Click on the video
  5. Using the ACTIONS pull-down menu on the right, select Publish
  6. Select Unlisted
  7. Select Save

• When you start to use OBJ files, go here to find some of my favorites.

• Here are some interesting uses of computer graphics:
  • Beirut fire and explosion
  • Architectural and Landscape visualization

• From an article in the NY Times on October 13, 2020: Scientists have created a geometric model of Covid-19 and have used CG to animate it in 3D. Click here to see the video. Notice the use of lighting to make the spheres look like spheres and not blobs. If this was done in OpenGL, this would definitely be a great time to be using display lists for the spheres! Also notice how jarring the sudden changes in camera direction are. When we cover KeyTime animation, we will talk about how one could make this smoother.

• Here is a page of Common OpenGL Mistakes.

• One of our former TAs prepared a document covering common Troubleshooting Problems with Visual Studio. Check it out here.

• You can get some of the Microsoft software for free. This includes Visual Studio. To do this, go to: https://azureforeducation.microsoft.com/devtools. Click the blue Sign In button. Login using your ONID@oregonstate.edu username and password.
  I recommend that you get Visual Studio 2022 Enterprise.
  Don't get VS Community or VS Express. For some reason, students have had bad experiences with them.

• You need a compiler. Note that VS Code is not a compiler. It is a terminal interface.

• Here is an Online 3D Model Converter, which you might find handy to convert 3D model files into different formats for your own use.

Job-Hunting Information:

• The EECS Career and Networking Events Calendar can be found here.

• Want your resume proofread and commented on? Email me a PDF and I will do that. Please rename the file to YourOnidID.pdf so I can keep them straight.

• In a similar vein, I am always happy to write letters of recommendation for you for grad school, company employment, etc, but only if you waive the right to see the letters. I don't submit letters of recommendation under those circumstances. When people see that the student has access to the letters, they don't take the letter seriously. So sending the letter in that way is not a good use of my time or yours. If you'd like me to write a letter, please waive access.

• OSU maintains a service called Handshake that connects you and potential employers. Find it at: https://career.oregonstate.edu/handshake . Then go to Student Login Handshake.

• Check out the resources at the OSU Career Development Center.

• There is a book I really like called: Programming Interviews Exposed: Coding Your Way Through the Interview
  It prepares you for CS interview questions by revealing strategies and giving a nice review of data structures, recursion, and other programming information you might be asked about.
  I have a paper copy of it if you'd like to see it. Also, it's less than $25 on Amazon.
  The OSU library has it in electronic form. Click here, scroll down, then click on View and download full book.

Class Notes Handouts and Recorded Videos in Place of a Textbook

Course material will consist of my notes and web pages.
All required course materials for this class will cost you $0.00 (i.e., free).

LV = Lecture Video

NOTE: I am still recording new versions of some of the videos. Any topic without an LV is one being recorded still. Stay tuned.

Week #	Noteset
0	Class Resources Page					LV
0	Introduction to CS 450/550	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
0	A Brief History of Computer Graphics	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
0	Project Notes	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
0	The Computer Graphics Process	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
0	The Science of Pixar	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
0	Getting Started with OpenGL Programming	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV-A	LV-B	LV-C
1	Khronos Group's OpenGL 4.6 Reference Card	PDF
1	The C/C++ Sample Program	sample.cpp
1	Display Lists	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
1	GL Utility Toolkit (GLUT)	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
1	Color in Computer Graphics	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV-A	LV-B
1	Sines and Cosines for Animation	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
1	OBJ Files	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
2	Lighting	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV-A	LV-B
2	Lighting Steps	PDF
2	Framebuffer	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
2	Keytime Animation	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
2	Keytime Steps	PDF
3	OpenGL Transparency	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
3	Texture Mapping	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV-A	LV-B
3	Texturing Steps	PDF
4	Forward Kinematics	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
4	Test #1 review.	HTML
5	Geometric Modeling	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV-A	LV-B
5	GLM	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
5	A short GLM Primer	HTML
5	Vertex Buffer Objects	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
6	Freezing Your Animation	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp
6	Shaders	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV-A	LV-B	LV-C
6	Shader Steps	PDF
6	Instancing	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
6	OpenGL Picking	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
7	Casting Shadows with OpenGL	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
7	Rendering	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV-A	LV-B
8	Stencil Buffer	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
8	Animation	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV-A	LV-B
8	3D Printing	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
9	Setting the Eye Position on an Orbiting Body	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
9	Stereographics	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
9	Looking Glass Stereo Quilts	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
9	Virtual and Augmented Reality	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
10	Vulkan	1pp	2pp	4pp	6pp	LV
10	More Information	PDF
10	Test #2 Review	HTML

Guest Speaker Links

Andrew Glassner, Weta Digital: "Exploring the World with Computer Graphics" Articles

Vinh Le's (Pixar and formerly ILM) video presentation can be found here: Video

Vinh Le's (Pixar and formerly ILM) video presentation can be found here: Video

Regarding Pixar internships. Vinh says: find information here: http://www.pixar.com/internships That web site says that internships for 2025 will be posted December 4, 2024. There are Production Internships, of which PUP is one. PUP is more artistic, but can be more technical, whatever the student brings. It introduces the pipeline, from modeling, shading to animation to rendering, i.e. the pipeline of typical studios. This is suited more for students interested in the Artist type careers. Then there are Technology Internships, which is Systems, R&D, and Renderman, perhaps more suited to the technical students that like to code.

As to the Joy Particles, Vinh says "The Joy particles were just to be something in the background, like in the first movie, but the final story had them front and center with a hero moment when Anxiety turned the console over to Joy. It was cool to have them a focus of the story, but also daunting, as the setup wasn't made for those types of shots. Nothing like new challenges with less time to accomplish, but live action experience prepared me for that!"

Information coming from Natasha Anisimova's talk:

• "Caitlin Cooke" is the correct spelling of her name. She posts a lot of early-in-career jobs on her LinkedIn site
• Another link Natasha wanted to share is http://gamedevmap.com It's a great resource to finding different game studios around the world.
• Another link you might like is the Portland Indie Game (P.I.G.) Squad.

Class Schedule

To see an academic year calendar, click here.

For on-campus students, face-to-face class time is: Monday and Wednesday, 12:00 - 1:40. Unless otherwise specified, all classes will be in Wilkinson Hall room 110. That room is actually the Gilfillan Auditorium. It can be accessed most easily from 26th Street at the back of the building.

Cancelled dates:

1. Monday, Nov 11
2. Wednesday, Nov 27

Note: this schedule is my best guess on where we'll be -- it is only approximate.

Week #	Start Date	Topics
0	Sept 25	Introductions Discussion of class objectives and how we will go about it A brief history of computer graphics Project Notes The Computer Graphics Process The Computer Graphics Vertex-to-Pixel Pipeline Getting started with OpenGL
1	Sept 30	Getting started with OpenGL Project #1 Sample program Color in CG GL Utility Toolkit Display Lists OBJ files
2	Oct 7	Project #2 Lighting: Ambient, Diffuse, Specular, per-vertex versus per-fragment Framebuffers: the rasterizer, Double-buffering, Z-buffer, Z-fighting
3	Oct 14	Project #3 Keytime Animation Transparency (blending) Andrew Glassner, Weta Digital, speaking on "Exploring the World with Computer Graphics" on Wednesday, October 16, 12:00 noon. This will be on Zoom and in Wilkinson 110 for on-campusers. Here is the Zoom-room. Confirmed.
4	Oct 21	Project #4 Test #1 review. Texture mapping Natasha Anisimova, speaking on "Breaking into the Gaming Industry", on Wednesday October 23, 12:00 noon. This will be shown on Zoom and in Wilkinson 110 for on-campusers. Here is the Zoom-room. Confirmed.
5	Oct 28	Geometric modeling: meshes, curves, surfaces, constructive solid geometry (CSG), L-systems Vertex Buffer Objects (VBOs): their role in non-deprecated OpenGL, how to create them, VBO efficiency versus glBegin-glEnd Test #1 will be taken on Canvas in a 60-minute interval of your own choosing during October 30 - November 2. It will open at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, October 30 and will close at 23:59 on Saturday, November 2. The test will be unproctored and open notes. Vinh Le, Pixar (and formerly ILM), will appear Monday, October 28, 12:00 noon, speaking on "Introduction to Visual FX". This will be on Zoom and in Wilkinson 110 for on-campusers. Here is the Zoom-room. Confirmed.
6	Nov 4	Shaders: the GLSL shader programming language, vertex shaders, fragment shaders, uniform variables, out/in variables, the role of the rasterizer Casting shadows: rendering the depth into a texture, two-pass algorithms GLM: its role in non-deprecated OpenGL, its role in vertex shaders
7	Nov 11	No class on Monday, November 11! Project #6 Forward kinematics: general hierarchical transformations Rendering: rasterization, ray-tracing, path-tracing, radiosity
8	Nov 18	Animation: keyframe, forward kinematics (FK), inverse kinematics (IK), physics, chains, cloth, functional animation, motion capture (mocap) Stencil Buffer 3D printing
9	Nov 25	Stereographics: the non-symmetric viewing volume Producing "quilts" Virtual and augmented reality: viewing headsets, distortion shaders, foveated rendering, spherical stereo rendering OpenXR No on-campus class on Wednesday, November 27! However, we will have the Week #9 Live Lecture that day!
10	Dec 2	Vulkan: differences from OpenGL More Information document Test #2 Review Rob Russ, Pixar, will appear Wednesday, December 4, 12:00 noon, speaking on "The Making of Toy Story 4". This will be on Zoom and in Wilkinson 110 for on-campusers. Feel free to invite anyone you think is interested. Here is the Zoom-room. Confirmed.
T2	Dec 11-14	Test #2 will be taken on Canvas in a 60-minute interval of your own choosing during December 11-14. It will open at 12:01 AM PT on Wednesday, December 11 and will close at 11:59 PM PT on Saturday, December 14. The test will be unproctored and open notes.

Live Lectures

We will go over some current materials, some upcoming materials, and maybe some extra materials (such as CG videos). It will be a time for you to also ask live questions or chat questions. Attendance at the live session is optional. Lurking is welcome! These sessions will be recorded in case you missed them. Here is my Zoom-room.

Week #	Chat	Video
0	PDF	Video
1	PDF	Video
2	PDF	Video
Blender Night #1	PDF	Video
3	PDF	Video
4	PDF	Video
5	PDF	Video
6	PDF	Video
7	PDF	Video
Blender Night #2	-----	Video
8	PDF	Video

Professor

Office:	Kelley 2117 (2nd floor, south side, overlooking the Milam dumpsters)
Email:	mjb@cs.oregonstate.edu
Phone:	541-737-2542 (probably will need to leave a message)
Zoom-room:	Zoom

Above all, know that I am here to help you!

Prof. Bailey's Office Hours

We will set our Office Hours based on what you tell me in this web form.

All OHs are on Zoom. All OHs are open to everyone, regardless of what section you are in.

We strongly encourage Office Hour "Lurkers"! You don't need to come to OHs to specifically ask questions. Being on Zoom, you can just listen in, even if you are working on something else. I have found Lurking to be an amazingly effective way to make the projects go smoother for you. Use it!

Name	Email @oregonstate.edu	Zoom-room	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Ninad Anklesaria (NA)	anklesan	Zoom	8:00-11:00	8:00-11:00		8:00-11:00		8:00-9:00
Ajay Hayagreeve Balaji (AHB)	balajia	Zoom		2:00-5:00		4:00-5:00	3:00-6:00	9:00-12:00
Li-Hsin Chiang (L-HC)	chiangl	Zoom	2:00-4:00	1:00-4:00	1:00-4:00	1:00-3:00
Nirmit Bharatbhai Patel (NBP)	patenirm	Zoom	4:00-6:00		10:00-1:00	12:00-2:00	1:00-3:00	12:00-1:00
Uddyan Sinha (US)	sinhau	Zoom	8:00-1:00				8:00-1:00
Bo Wang (BW)	wangb3	Zoom		8:00-10:00		9:00-12:00
Yifan Zeng (YZ)	zengyif	Zoom			8:00-10:00	8:00-9:00	8:00-11:00	8:00-12:00
Prof. Bailey (PB)	mjb	Zoom	10:00-11:00	10:00-12:00	2:00-4:00 (LL)		4:00-6:00

All OHs are on Zoom. All times are Pacific time. LL signifies when the "Live Lecture" is.

Day	8:00	9:00	10:00	11:00	12:00	1:00	2:00	3:00	4:00	5:00
Monday	NA , US	NA , US	NA , US , PB	US	US		L-HC	L-HC
Tuesday	NA , BW	NA , BW	NA , PB	PB		L-HC	AHB , L-HC	AHB , L-HC	AHB
Wednesday	YZ	YZ	NBP	NBP	NBP	L-HC	L-HC , PB (LL)	L-HC , PB (LL)	NBP	NBP
Thursday	NA , YZ	NA , BW	NA , BW	BW	NBP	L-HC , NBP	L-HC		AHB
Friday	US , YZ	US , YZ	US , YZ	US	US	NBP	NBP	AHB	AHB , PB	AHB , PB
Saturday	NA , YZ	AHB , YZ	AHB , YZ	AHB , YZ	NBP

The links point to the Zoom-Rooms
"LL" = Prof. Bailey's Live Lecture

Demonstration Videos

• Here is a video showing Z-buffering and Z-fighting:
  • Z-buffering and Z-fighting

• Here is a video about Lighting:
  • Lighting

• Here are videos from the Geometric Modeling notes:
  • Bézier curve sculpting
  • Lattices for modeling

• Here are videos from the Animation notes:
  • Two-body keyframe animation
  • Chain Animation
  • Cloth Animation
  • Rigid Body Animation -- Dominos
  • Fluid Animation
  • Particle Animation
  • Functional Animation -- Collision Avoidance

Projects

Project Turn-In Procedures

1. Your .cpp file
2. A short PDF report containing:
   • Your name
   • Your email address
   • Project number and title
   • A description of what you did to get the display you got
   • A cool-looking screen shot from your program
   • The link to the Kaltura video demonstrating that your project does what the requirements ask for. If you can, we'd appreciate it if you'd narrate your video so that you can tell us what it is doing.

// a global variable:
GLuint DL;

. . .

// do this in InitLists( ):
DL = glGenLists( 1 );
glNewList( DL, GL_COMPILE );
	LoadObjFile( (char *)"spaceship.obj" );
glEndList( );

. . .

// do this in Display( ):
glCallList( DL );