Instructor: Reynold Bailey
Email: rjb@cs.rit.edu
Phone: (585) 475-6181
Office hours: Monday, Wednesday, 11:00 AM - NOON, Room 70-3517
Friday, 10:00 AM - NOON, Room 70-3517
Class times: Monday, Wednesday, NOON - 1:50 PM, Room 70-1620
Course URL: http://www.cs.rit.edu/~rjb/CG2_20083.htm
This course will investigate the theory of computer image synthesis. Seminal papers in Computer Graphics will be used to describe the various components of the image synthesis pipeline and explain, just as in photography, how the path of light in a virtual scene can be simulated and used to create photorealistic imagery. The course will emphasize the theory behind various rendering tools and libraries available for image synthesis. The student will put theory into practice via programming assignments and a capstone project. Topics will include light and color, three-dimensional scene specification, camera models, surface materials and textures, rendering (local, ray tracing, radiosity), procedural shading and modeling, tone reproduction, and advanced rendering techniques.
The prerequisite for this course is one of the following courses:
These are prerequisites, not co-requisites - to succeed in this course, you should have already passed one of these courses, or their equivalents. Taking it at the same time as CG2 is not sufficient! See me immediately if you are missing the prerequisites.
There is no required textbook for this course.
There are a number of textbooks which cover this area; here are two of them:
Note that neither of these books are required, and lecture material will not be based on either book.
In Computer Graphics, much like many other areas of Computer Science, the best way to learn is by doing. While the theory of image synthesis will be discussed in the lectures, the real learning will occur when students implement the algorithms and techniques. Thus, your grade in this course will rely heavily on the successful completion of the programming tasks.
The final grade will be determined using the following weights:
| Project | 50% |
| Programming Assignments | 30% |
| Readings (summaries) | 10% |
| Report | 10% |
The programming assignments will focus on two major areas: Ray Tracing and Procedural Shading. Starting with the first week, assignments will be given on a weekly basis. In most cases, the assignment will be due the following week. Each of the assignments will build upon the work done on the previous assignments.
A quarter-long project that illustrates in-depth knowledge of one aspect of the image synthesis pipeline as presented in the course. Students' choice of project should reflect their interests and their motivation for taking this course. The intent of the project is to provide students with the opportunity to undertake a significant task in computer graphics of their own choosing.
Team projects are acceptable; however, the complexity of the project should reflect the number of members of the team, and all team members are expected to contribute equally to the final project.
Each student (or team) will be expected to give a short (~15 minutes) presentation on his/her/their project during the last week(s) of the quarter and finals week.
In order to get used to reading the Computer Graphics literature, students will also be required to submit short summaries of selected papers. Students may choose the papers they wish to summarize from the Reading List; however only one paper per topic should be chosen. Paper summaries must be submitted prior to the lecture corresponding to the topic covered by the paper.
Graduates students are required to submit two paper summaries per week.Students taking this course for graduate credit will be required to submit a survey of the state of the art in a given subtopic or an in-depth report on a particular Computer Graphics technique not presented in lecture. The intention of this deliverable is to prepare the student for a possible project/thesis in the area of Graphics. Grad students should meet with the instructor in the first three weeks of the course to discuss possible topics that match the students interests and future study plans in the area of computer graphics. It is possible, and quite likely, that the topic for the report will be related to the final project.
It is extremely important to continue to make progress as the course progresses. Late deliverables will be penalized 10% for each day late. There is an exception to this rule: if you foresee any problems with meeting deliverable deadlines, please see the instructor well in advance (at least one week) of the deadline that might be missed to make alternate arrangements.
As an institution of higher learning, RIT expects students to behave honestly and ethically at all times, especially when submitting work for evaluation in conjunction with any course or degree requirement. The Department of Computer Science encourages all students to become familiar with the RIT Honor Code (a general statement that sets standards of behavior for all members of the RIT community), which may be found online at:
RIT's Academic Honesty Policy, can be found online at:
As RIT's Academic Honesty Policy points out, "Academic Dishonesty falls into three basic areas: cheating, duplicate submission, and plagiarism" While many occurrences represent clear violations, there are also many situations that can occur which are less clear cut. For every section of a course taught in the Department of Computer Science, the instructor will make known to students his or her expectations related to such matters as cheating, duplicate submission, or plagiarism.
Student behavior deemed by an instructor (in the Department of Computer Science) to violate RIT's Academic Honesty Policy will be subject to disciplinary action. Such behavior will be treated as follows:
Stronger penalties may be exacted in cases (1) or (2) above if, in the judgment of the instructor, the offense involves a flagrant violation of policy. Furthermore, both undergraduate and graduate students may incur additional, non-academic penalties. Graduate students in cases (1) or (2) above will lose financial aid, although the graduate program coordinator, at his or her discretion, may choose to override this penalty. The undergraduate program coordinator, at his or her discretion, may choose to impose academic actions in cases (1) or (2) above for undergraduate Computer Science majors.
According to section D5.0 (Grades) of the RIT Institute Policies and Procedures Manual, "A student may not withdraw from a course ... to avoid charges of academic dishonesty." The Department of Computer Science will enforce this policy. Finally, for each student involved in an incident of dishonest academic behavior, the course instructor will file an academic dishonesty report detailing the incident. If the student is a Computer Science major, a copy of the report will be placed in the student's departmental file; otherwise, a copy of the report will be forwarded to the student's department chair or program coordinator.
Score Range
Grade n ≥ 90% A 80% ≤ n < 90% B 70% ≤ n < 80% C 60% ≤ n < 70% D n < 60% F