Polygon (computer graphics)

Polygons are used in computer graphics to compose images that are three-dimensional in appearance. Usually (but not always) triangular, polygons arise when an object's surface is modeled, vertices are selected, and the object is rendered in a wire frame model. This is quicker to display than a shaded model; thus the polygons are a stage in computer animation. The polygon count refers to the number of polygons being rendered per frame.

Competing methods for rendering polygons that avoid seams

Computer graphics

Computer graphics are pictures and movies created using computers - usually referring to image data created by a computer specifically with help from specialized graphical hardware and software. It is a vast and recent area in computer science.The phrase was coined by computer graphics researchers Verne Hudson and William Fetter of Boeing in 1960. Another name for the field is computer-generated imagery, or simply CGI.

Important topics in computer graphics include user interface design, sprite graphics, vector graphics, 3D modeling, shaders, GPU design, and computer vision, among others. The overall methodology depends heavily on the underlying sciences of geometry, optics, and physics. Computer graphics is responsible for displaying art and image data effectively and beautifully to the user, and processing image data received from the physical world. The interaction and understanding of computers and interpretation of data has been made easier because of computer graphics. Computer graphic development has had a significant impact on many types of media and has revolutionized animation, movies, advertising, video games, and graphic design generally.

Computer graphics (computer science)

Computer graphics is a sub-field of computer science which studies methods for digitally synthesizing and manipulating visual content. Although the term often refers to the study of three-dimensional computer graphics, it also encompasses two-dimensional graphics and image processing.

Overview

Computer graphics studies the manipulation of visual and geometric information using computational techniques. It focuses on the mathematical and computational foundations of image generation and processing rather than purely aesthetic issues. Computer graphics is often differentiated from the field of visualization, although the two fields have many similarities.

Connected studies include:

Applications of computer graphics include:

History

One of the first displays of computer animation was Futureworld (1976), which included an animation of a human face and hand — produced by Ed Catmull and Fred Parke at the University of Utah. Swedish inventor Håkan Lans applied for the first patent on color graphics in 1979.

Computer graphics (disambiguation)

Computer graphics are graphics created by computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of pictorial data by a computer.

Computer graphics may also refer to:

See also

Computer

A computer is a general purpose device that can be programmed to carry out a set of arithmetic or logical operations automatically. Since a sequence of operations can be readily changed, the computer can solve more than one kind of problem.

Conventionally, a computer consists of at least one processing element, typically a central processing unit (CPU), and some form of memory. The processing element carries out arithmetic and logic operations, and a sequencing and control unit can change the order of operations in response to stored information. Peripheral devices allow information to be retrieved from an external source, and the result of operations saved and retrieved.

Mechanical analog computers started appearing in the first century and were later used in the medieval era for astronomical calculations. In World War II, mechanical analog computers were used for specialized military applications such as calculating torpedo aiming. During this time the first electronic digital computers were developed. Originally they were the size of a large room, consuming as much power as several hundred modern personal computers (PCs).

Human computer

The term "computer", in use from the early 17th century (the first known written reference dates from 1613), meant "one who computes": a person performing mathematical calculations, before electronic computers became commercially available. "The human computer is supposed to be following fixed rules; he has no authority to deviate from them in any detail." (Turing, 1950) Teams of people were frequently used to undertake long and often tedious calculations; the work was divided so that this could be done in parallel.

The first time the term "Computer" appeared in The New York Times was February 3, 1853; an obituary stated:

Since the end of the 20th century, the term "human computer" has also been applied to individuals with prodigious powers of mental arithmetic, also known as mental calculators.

Origins in astronomy

The approach was taken for astronomical and other complex calculations. Perhaps the first example of organized human computing was by the Frenchman Alexis Claude Clairaut (1713–1765), when he divided the computation to determine timing of the return of Halley's Comet with two colleagues, Joseph Lalande and Nicole-Reine Lepaute.

List of Courage the Cowardly Dog characters

This is a list of characters from the Cartoon Network animated series, Courage the Cowardly Dog.

Main characters

Courage

Courage is the series' protagonist, and an overly frightened purple beagle dog who lives in Nowhere, Kansas. He was abandoned as a puppy after his parents were sent into outer space, but was adopted by Muriel Bagge. Her husband, Eustace, regularly mistreats him. Ironically, given his name, Courage is a genuine coward, but still goes to great lengths to protect his owners; to the end, he often gets injured, sometimes quite brutally, or almost killed and only surviving through his determination and/or pure luck. Despite his cowardice, Courage is very clever and resourceful when the situation demands it, outsmarting the villains most of the time. Aiding him at saving the day is a self-aware, sarcastic and seemingly omniscient Computer that he keeps in the attic with which he could consult for information in how to remedy any predicament he faces (though it never fails to badmouth him in one way or another). He got his name when Muriel found him as a puppy alone in an alley and remarked that he must be quite brave to be there by himself.