CS 418: Computer Graphics

Prof. Yizhou Yu (Instructor) yyz@ad.uiuc.edu 3237 Siebel Center Office Hours: Mondays 5:00pm-6:00pm	Elaine Wilson (Secretary) ewilson@ad.uiuc.edu 3229 Siebel Center

Wei-Wen Feng(TA) wfeng2@uiuc.edu 3238 Siebel Center Discussion (1111 Siebel): Wednesdays 11:00am-11:50am, 12:00pm-12:50pm Office Hours (0207 Siebel): Tuesdays, Thursdays 11:00am-12:00pm

Overview

In this course, students will learn the basic mathematical tools and computational techniques for modeling and displaying three-dimensional geometric objects. Students are expected to have a background in basic data structures, programming in C++, analytic geometry, vector calculus, and linear algebra. More specifically, the prerequisites for this course are:

CS 225 or CS 300,
Math 225 (Matrix Theory) or Math 315 (linear algebra), and
Math 242 (vector calculus)

An existing knowledge of OpenGL is helpful, but not required.

Textbooks

The required text for this course is

Interactive Computer Graphics: A Top-Down Approach using OpenGL, Edward Angel.
Fifth Edition. Addison-Wesley. [Amazon]

The machine problems assigned in this course will make substantial use of the OpenGL graphics API. If you purchase the required text through the University bookstore, you should also receive a free copy of

OpenGL: A Primer, Edward Angel.
Addison-Wesley. [Amazon]

We also strongly recommend that you obtain a copy of the following book:

OpenGL Programming Guide, OpenGL ARB, Shreiner et al.
Fifth Edition or later. Addison-Wesley. [Amazon]

It contains a great deal of useful information on writing OpenGL programs and on computer graphics in general.

Grading Policies

Final grades in this course will be based on performance on (1) written homeworks, (2) machine problems, and (3) exams. Grades in these individual areas will be weighted as follows:

Homeworks 15%

Midterm Exam 15%

Final Exam 25%

Machine Problems 45%

Final letter grades will be computed "on the curve". We will total grades as indicated by the weighting scheme above. Each student will have earned some percentage of the total possible points. This percentage will determine a relative standing in the whole class. Your guaranteed minimum grade is based on this relative standing, as indicated in the following table:

% Total Minimum Grade

Top 15% A

Top 50% B

Top 85% C

This table indicates minimum guaranteed grades. Under certain limited circumstances, we may select more generous ranges.

This course contains both undergraduate and graduate students. We expect to grade both undergrads and grads on the same scale, as past experience shows that both groups perform at roughly equal levels. However, if a significant performance disparity develops, we may choose to grade the two groups separately.

Please remember that students are bound by the University honor code on academic integrity in regard to all work related to this course. Any student found to be violating this code will be subject to disciplinary action.

Labs

Students can optionally use the workstations located in 0216 Siebel. These machines are running Linux, Windows or Mac OS.

Assignments

There will be four machine problems assigned in this course. As stated above, they will account for 45% of your final grade. The relative weighting of the individual problems will be as follows:

MP1 25%

MP2 25%

MP3 25%

MP4 25%

We expect there to be 3-4 written homeworks assigned during this course, which will cumulatively account for 15% of your final grade. Unless noted otherwise, they will all count equally.

After a machine problem or homework is assigned, important clarifications may be made to the directions on the initial assignment. These clarifications will be posted on the class newsgroup uiuc.class.cs418. It is your responsibility to monitor this newsgroup in case any important announcements are made.