Elements of Graphics and Visualization
CS 324E

Spring 2007
Unique ID: 54920
Time: MW 2:00-3:30
Location: PAI 3.14
Professor: Don Fussell
Office: ACES 2.120
Phone: 471-9719 Office, 627-7659 Cell
Email: fussell@cs.utexas.edu
Office Hours: MW 1:00-2:00

TA: Yan Li
TA Office Hours: TTh: 10:30-12:00
TA Office Hours Location: Elements Lab
TA Email: yanli@cs.utexas.edu


BMRT image by Jeremy Gibson, former UT RTF major.

This is a hands-on class in computer graphics programming. We will concentrate on teaching the principles of three dimensional computer graphics, and we will explore these principles through programming assignments in Java using the Java 2D and Java 3D APIs. We will also do some projects involving ray tracers and other 3D APIs. There will be many programming assignments, and two in-class, open-book exams.

Assignments

We will work in the CS Department Elements Lab. If you don't already have one, you can apply for a lab account here. The format of your programs should conform to these common programming standards.

You should use turnin to submit assignments. Here are instructions on using this if you are not familiar with it.

You should also use the following naming convention in turning in programs. Each file that you are turning in has a name of the form "filename.extension", for example "Amoeba.java", where "Amoeba" is the filename, and "java" is the extension. You should make sure that your filename ends with the number of the assignment for every file being turned in for a particular assignments. So, for assignment 2, you'd turn in "Amoeba2.java" and "README2".

MIDTERM EXAM

- In class, March 21. You may bring your textbook, your notes, and your programs, as well as a printout of the Java2d tutorial from the web if you like.
Sample exam

SECOND EXAM

- In class, May 2. It will also be open book, you may bring any single graphics textbook, your class notes, and your programs. You shouldn't need additional Java3d references, but I'll make my laptop available to look up javadocs during the exam just in case.
Sample exam
Please make sure you've done all the reading assignments as well.

Material to be covered on last exam:
Text: Chapters 5-10 with the exception of the following sections: 8.5, 8.6, 9.5, 10.4
Slides: Lectures 5-11, and be sure to review the slides on transforms and scene graphs
Important topics: Basics of ray tracing (from slides), scene graphs and 3-d coordinate transforms (book and slides), Phong shading model (book and slides), viewing basics (book and slides), texture mapping (book and slides)

Lectures, Demos, etc.

Don Fussell