TERMPAPAER OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS

TOPIC:- Computer Graphics & Animations Tools

Submitted By: Summit

Sakhre

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am very thankful to our teacher Mr. XYZ, without whom I could not be able to complete this task. Without his kind intentions it was impossible for me to complete such a task. I am very thankful for helping me to complete this term paper. My teacher gives important and good ideas always help me to go forward...Lots of useful books are available in our library which is very helpful for me. And also support to my friends.

Summit Sakhre

Content

Introduction Image types Vector graphics 3D computer graphics Computer animation Concepts and principles Rendering Applications Animation tools & tips Interactive animation Animation tips

Computer graphics
The development of computer graphics has made computers easier to interact with, and better for understanding and interpreting many types of data. Developments in computer graphics have had a profound impact on many types of media and have revolutionized animation, movies and the video game industry.

Introduction
The term computer graphics has been used in a broad sense to describe "almost everything on computers that is not text or sound". Typically, the term computer graphics refers to several different things:

the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer the various technologies used to create and manipulate images the images so produced, and the sub-field of computer science which studies methods for digitally synthesizing and manipulating visual content, see study of computer graphics

Today, computers and computer-generated images touch many aspects of daily life. Computer imagery is found on television, in newspapers, for example in weather reports, or for example in all kinds of medical investigation and surgical procedures. A well-constructed graph can present complex statistics in a form that is easier to understand and interpret. In the media "such graphs are used to illustrate papers, reports, thesis", and other presentation material. Many powerful tools have been developed to visualize data. Computer generated imagery can be categorized into several different types: 2D, 3D, 4D, 7D, and animated graphics. As technology has improved, 3D computer graphics have become more common, but 2D computer graphics are still widely used. Computer graphics has emerged as a sub-field of computer science which studies methods for digitally synthesizing and manipulating visual content. Over the past decade, other specialized fields have been developed like information visualization, and scientific visualization more concerned with "the visualization of three dimensional phenomena (architectural, meteorological, medical, biological, etc.), where the emphasis is on realistic renderings of volumes, surfaces, illumination sources, and so forth, perhaps with a dynamic (time) component".

Image types
2D computer graphics

Raster graphic sprites (left) and masks (right)

2D computer graphics are the computer-based generation of digital imagesmostly from twodimensional models, such as 2D geometric models, text, and digital images, and by techniques specific to them. 2D computer graphics are mainly used in applications that were originally developed upon traditional printing and drawing technologies, such as typography, cartography, technical drawing, advertising, etc.. In those applications, the two-dimensional image is not just a representation of a real-world object, but an independent artifact with added semantic value; two-dimensional models are therefore preferred, because they give more direct control of the image than 3D computer graphics, whose approach is more akin to photography than to typography.

Vector graphics

Example showing effect of vector graphics versus raster (bitmap) graphics.

Vector graphics formats are complementary to raster graphics, which is the representation of images as an array of pixels, as it is typically used for the representation of photographic images Vector graphics consists in encoding information about shapes and colors that comprise the image, which can allow for more flexibility in rendering. There are instances when working with vector tools and formats is best practice, and instances when working with raster tools and formats is best practice. There are times when both formats come together. An understanding of the advantages and limitations of each technology and the relationship between them is most likely to result in efficient and effective use of tools.

Pixel art
Pixel art is a form of digital art, created through the use of raster graphics software, where images are edited on the pixel level. Graphics in most old (or relatively limited) computer and video games, graphing calculator games, and many mobile phone games are mostly pixel art.

3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics in contrast to 2D computer graphics are graphics that use a threedimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. Such images may be for later display or for realtime viewing. 3D computer graphics are often referred to as 3D models. Apart from the rendered graphic, the model is contained within the graphical data file. However, there are differences. A 3D model is the mathematical representation of any three-dimensional object. A model is not technically a graphic until it is visually displayed. Due to 3D printing, 3D models are not confined to virtual space. A model can be displayed visually as a two-dimensional image through a process called 3D rendering, or used in non-graphical computer simulations and calculations. There are some 3D computer graphics software for users to create 3D images.

Computer animation

An example of Computer animation produced using Motion capture

Computer animation is the art of creating moving images via the use of computers. It is a subfield of computer graphics and animation. Increasingly it is created by means of 3D computer graphics, though 2D computer graphics are still widely used for stylistic, low bandwidth, and faster real-time rendering needs. Sometimes the target of the animation is the computer itself, but sometimes the target is another medium, such as film. It is also referred to as CGI (Computer-generated imagery or computer-generated imaging), especially when used in films. To create the illusion of movement, an image is displayed on the computer screen then quickly replaced by a new image that is similar to the previous image, but shifted slightly. This technique is identical to the illusion of movement in television and motion pictures.

Concepts and principles

Images are typically produced by optical devices;such as cameras, mirrors, lenses, telescopes, microscopes, etc. and natural objects and phenomena, such as the human eye or water surfaces. A digital image is a representation of a two-dimensional image in binary format as a sequence of ones and zeros. Digital images include both vector images and raster images, but raster images are more commonly used.

Pixel

In the enlarged portion of the image individual pixels are rendered as squares and can be easily seen.

In digital imaging, a pixel (or picture element) is a single point in a raster image. Pixels are normally arranged in a regular 2-dimensional grid, and are often represented using dots or squares. Each pixel is a sample of an original image, where more samples typically provide a more accurate representation of the original. The intensity of each pixel is variable; in color systems, each pixel has typically three components such as red, green, and blue.

Rendering
Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model (or models in what collectively could be called a scene file), by means of computer programs. A scene file contains objects in a strictly defined language or data structure; it would contain geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, and shading information as a description of the virtual scene.

3D projection 3D projection is a method of mapping three dimensional points to a two dimensional plane. As most current methods for displaying graphical data are based on planar two dimensional media, the use of this type of projection is widespread, especially in computer graphics, engineering and drafting. Ray tracing Ray tracing is a technique for generating an image by tracing the path of light through pixels in an image plane. The technique is capable of producing a very high degree of photorealism; usually higher than that of typical scanline rendering methods, but at a greater computational cost. Shading

Example of shading. Shading refers to depicting depth in 3D models or illustrations by varying levels of darkness. It is a process used in drawing for depicting levels of darkness on paper by applying media more densely or with a darker shade for darker areas, and less densely or with a lighter shade for lighter areas. Texture mapping Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture, or colour to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in 1974. A texture map is applied (mapped) to the surface of a shape, or polygon. This process is akin to applying patterned paper to a plain white box Anti-aliasing Rendering resolution-independent entities (such as 3D models) for viewing on a raster (pixel-based) device such as a LCD display or CRT television inevitably causes aliasing artifacts mostly along geometric edges and the boundaries of texture details; these artifacts are informally called "jaggies". Anti-aliasing

methods rectify such problems, resulting in imagery more pleasing to the viewer, but can be somewhat computationally expensive.

Applications

Computational biology Computational physics Computer-aided design Computer simulation Digital art Education Graphic design Infographics Information visualization Rational drug design Scientific visualization Video Games Virtual reality Web design

Animation tools & tips

This is not a technical document, but rather a list of resources for the creation and playback of animation on a computer. The most valuable resource is knowledge and experience. Drawing is an art; the physics of motion of solid and of flexible objects is a science. Animation has been described as an "exacting art", the blending of artistic creations and the physical groundings and laws of weight and momentum. Both are needed to bring live into objects in a credible way. Traditional animation If experience is the most valuable resource, then the most valuable tip must be to study the work of others. Look at cartoons, especially those by Disney. Or better yet, read a book; I highly recommend:

White, Tony; "The Animator's Workbook"; Phaidon Press Ltd.; 1986; ISBN 0-71482566-2 A workbook to teach traditional animation, from idea to a film reel. The book focuses on making the key drawings and the inbetweens, and it has special chapters on lip synchronization and realism in animations. Blair, Preston; "Cartoon Animation"; Walter Foster Pub; 1995; ISBN: 1560100842 A "learn by example" book. Less technical than Tony White's book but a large amount of sketches and drawings.

If you want to try your hand at traditional animation, Chromacolour International. sells the tools, paper and cel for traditional animation. Chromacolour also has a range of products for scanning or drawing animations on the computer.

Computer animation Animation has many faces, as it covers any change of appearance or any visual effect that is timebased. It includes motion (change of position), time-varying changes in shape, colour (palette), transparency and even changes of the rendering technique. Two typical computer animation methods are "frame" animation and sprite animation. Frame animation is animation inside a rectangular frame. It is similar to cartoon movies: a sequence of frames that follow each other at a fast rate, fast enough to convey fluent motion. Frame animation is an "internal" animation method. It is typically pre-compiled and noninteractive. The frame is typically rectangular and non-transparent. Frame animation with transparency information is also referred to as "cel" animation. In traditional animation, a cel is a sheet of transparent acetate on which a single object (or character) is drawn. Sprite animation, in its simplest form, is a two-dimensional graphic object that moves across the display. Sprites often can have transparent areas. By using a mask or a transparent colour, sprites are not restricted to rectangular shapes. Referring to the CompuPhase products: EGI is a frame animation engine/compiler, with some extensions towards sprite animation, and AniSprite is a sprite animation library with (the common) support for multiple images per sprite. We think that by combining both products, you can achieve very mobile sprites, or synchronized cartoon-like animations.

Interactive animation
In games and in many multimedia applications, the animations should adapt themselves to the environment, the program status or the user activity. That is, animation should be interactive.

Referring to the CompuPhase products, EGI has had support for dynamically switchable segments since version 1.0. Each segment is a small movie, or a "clip" as an animator would call it. EGI and AniSprite were designed with interactivity in mind. To make the animations more event driven, one can embed a script, a small executable program, in every animob. Every time an animob touches another animob or when an animob gets clicked, the script is activated. The script then decides how to react to the event (if at all). The script file itself is written by the animator or by a programmer; it has a simplified, C-like syntax. Creating animations

Pro Motion is a low cost, feature packed paint program that is especially designed to create frame based animations. It supports FLIC files, Animated GIF and a private animation file format. Plastic Animation Paper is a professional, easy-to-use cel drawing program (to create frame based animations). It is especially good in creating cleaned-up "inked" drawings from initial "rough sketches". It's light box (onion skinning) is convenient to use. Already mentioned, Chromacolour International. is a good source for hardware and software for both traditional or computer-based animation. Paint Shop Pro by JASC Software, Inc. is a nice program for drawing and image processing. Notable for Paint Shop Pro is that it can save the alpha channel in a separate file in the .BMP format (although the extension is .MSK). These (alpha channel) masks can be used with AniSprite. TVPaint by CiS is a full featured paint and animation program. Video editing programs, like Adobe Premiere, can be put to good use for animation as well.

Embed animations in a game/application Obviously, we recommend our own software products, EGI and AniSprite. Alternatives are:

For frame based animation: o Video for Windows by Microsoft Corporation o Smacker by RAD Game Tools For sprite animation: o DirectDraw by Microsoft Corporation (except that you have to write most of the sprite handling yourself) o FrastGraph by Ted Gruber Software o Media!Lab by MetaGraphics Software Corporation

Animation tips

Some of these tips are aimed at the artists that create the drawings, some are aimed at the programmers that build a program around it. However, from my point of view, most of the tips presented here bridge the design versus implementation gap. Reserve colours in the palette for special purposes I was once asked to make an animation of a first-person view of a car driving on a highway and passing several traffic signs. A kind of a "fly by" animation, in fact. The symbols on those signs should be selectable at run-time. For computer animation, use 15 frames per second A film reel runs at 24 frames per second (fps). To reduce the number of drawings to make, traditional cartoon animators often shoot "on twos", which gives an effective rate of 12 fps. On the computer, there is no restriction of a hardware based frame rate. Unless you plan to transfer the animation to video, you are free to choose any frame rate. In my experience, 15 fps gives a good balance between fluency and the number of images you have to draw or render. (A lot depends on the images, though. Sometimes, one can go as low as 10 frames per second and still have fluent motion.) Use shadows to put characters 'on the ground' Without shadows, a character may seem to "float" above the ground level. Even rough, approximate shadows work better than no shadows at all. Since shadows give a visual clue of where a character or object touches the ground (or the surface of a table top, for example), shadows also help in adding depth to perspective drawings. A fascinating example of how shadow can even suggest motion in a stationary object (and a deeper discussion about shadows) can be found at Daniel Kersten's lab. Use motion blur Photo and video cameras show an amount of blur when they capture moving objects. The amount of blur can be small or large, depending on the magnitude and the speed of the motion and on the exposure time. The "motion blur" that is inherent to photo and video cameras also gives a clue about the speed and the direction of the motion. The human eye has a small latency, a kind of "afterglow" effect, that also blurs moving objects. This property of the human eye combines well with the camera blur, and leads to the rule of thumb that a movie shot at 20 fps conveys fluid motion.

Use anti-aliased sprites for fluent animations Motion blur is doable for frame animation, but often too costly for sprite animation. A low-cost substitute, that at least "blurs" the edges of the sprite with the background, is to use a mask with softened edges and to use alpha-blending to combine the sprite with the background. In addition to reducing the jaggedness of the edges of a sprite, this trick also has the effect of "blurring" the motion around the edges. Lip synching (this tip is due to Sean Timarco Baggaley)

Lip synchronizing costs a lot of effort, at least when done in the traditional way that is explained in Tony White's book. For high quality animation, the way to handle lip synchronization is still to carefully draw the character's mouth in the correct shape for every phoneme. If your 2D character is not going to be able to display too much detail, making a perfect lip sync is rather pointless. What you can do is cheat: draw only a small number of basic mouth shapes: "A", "E", "I", "O", "U", "TH", "M", "F" and so on. Just enough to cover the major mouth forms. You will need a matrix of frames to allow for transitions between each form from any other form. So the fewer basic shapes you have to start with, the easier it is. Loops and transitions; select the last frame first An animated character usually has a few repeatable movements (loops) like walking. After having drawn all frames for one full step, you can repeat those frames for the next step. The character also has non-repeatable movements, such as standing up from a seated position. Next to drawing the frames for the non-repeatable movement, you may also have to draw a few frames to go from a standing position to a walking transition.

Draw (facial) expressions on a separate layer There have always been a large number of drawings to be made for animation, and this will likely remain so. But traditional animators have also been very inventive to find ways to reduce the number of drawings that they needed to make. Drawing on cel (acetate foil) is taken for granted now, but it is nothing else as a technique to use the same drawings over different backgrounds. When drawing a cartoon character on a computer, I suggest that you draw the facial expression (the eyes, mouth, nose) on a separate layer. So one layer will have the complete cartoon character with an empty face and the other layer fills in the face. Base all animations and timed events on a single timer

Using a single timer as the time base for all time-related events, such as animations, is not as obvious as it may sound. If you play a MIDI track as background music to the animation, you probably already have two timers: the MIDI sequencer uses an internal timer to push MIDI events to the synthesizer and most sequencers do not make their timer available to external programs.

Enhance the illusion of depth by varying the sharpness and the saturation of colours Perspective drawing creates an illusion of depth in an image. However, not all images lend themselves well to clearly identify "vanishing points", or even a horizon. To enhance the illusion of depth, a common trick is to paint objects on the foreground in full and strong (saturated) colours and paint objects in the background in pastel (or unsaturated) colours. Photographic and video cameras focus on a particular distance. Make 'moving holds' (from the SIGGRAPH 94 talk by John Lasseter)

In hand drawn animation, it is very common to animate an action, then slow into a pose and hold the drawing of that pose for several frames, then move into action again. The animation stays alive even with the use of held drawings. But in computer animation, as soon as you go into a held pose, the action dies immediately. You are prone to make this "mistake" when you come out of traditional animation. To combat this, use a "moving hold". Instead of having every part of the character stop, have some part continue to move slightly, like an arm or a head. Even the slightest movement will keep your character alive.

References
Computer graphics Animation tools Advance topics on graphics Animation tools and tips Pdf of computer graphics