Computer Graphics

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

CHAPTER TWO – PART TWO

GRAPHICS PRIMITIVES
Computer Graphics Chapter Two, Part Two
2

Polygons

Polygon
Representation

Polygon Faces

OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions
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Polygons
 Fill-area primitives (Polygons):
 Any enclosed boundary
 Filled by solid color or
Polygons
pattern
 2D shapes with boundary
Polygon formed by connected
Representation straight line segments
 Need ≥3 coplanar points

Polygon Faces  Coplanar points:

 Points placed in the same

OpenGL Fill-Area plain

Functions  Simple or Standard Polygons:
 Polygons with no edge
crossing
 Polygonal Meshes:
 Approximate curved
surfaces by forming a
network of polygons
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Convex Polygons
 All interior angle <= 180o
 Used by many graphics

Polygons package
 More efficient to fill a polygon
 Convex?
Polygon
Representation
 Check interior angles
 
 Check the infinitely extended edge
N  u E1 E2 sin 
 Check the cross product of pair of
Polygon Faces adjacent edge.

Concave Polygons
OpenGL Fill-Area  At least 1 interior angle>180o
Functions

Degenerate Polygon
The polygon has less than 3 vertices; or
The polygon has collinear vertices; or
The polygon has non-coplanar vertices; or
The polygon has repeated vertices.
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Splitting Concave Polygons-Vector
Technique
Compute the cross product of the
Polygons edges
Polygon
If it has different sign
Representation  Extend the first edge of the pair till it
intersect to one of the other edges
Polygon Faces  Split the polygon in to two
 From the intersecting point
OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions
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Polygon Representations

Polygons

Polygon
Representation

Polygon Faces
Using two types of table of data
OpenGL Fill-Area  Geometric tables
Functions  Store geometric information
 like shapes and positions of the polygons
 Attribute tables
 Stores appearance information
 like color and opacity
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Polygon Front and Back Faces
 Polygons as a part of 3D polygonal meshes
 Front face: points outward from the object
Polygons
 Back face: points twards the object interior

Polygon
Representation

Polygon Faces

OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions
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Polygon Front and Back Faces
 Polygons Normal vector :
 A vector perpendicular to the plane of the
Polygons
polygon
 Points away from the front face of the
Polygon
polygon
Representation

Polygon Faces

OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions
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Computing Normal Vectors
 Graphics packages compute the Normal Vector
automatically
 By computing cross product of adjacent edges
Polygons  Cross product is a vector perpendicular to the
two vectors
Polygon  Considering the vertices
Representation  anti-clockwise : normal vector points towards
us
Polygon Faces  Clockwise: normal vector points away from us
E1 = (1,0,0)
E2 = (0,1,0)
 
OpenGL Fill-Area 
N  (0,0,1) N  u E1 E2 sin 
Functions
0 ≤ θ ≤ 180o
direction of the unit vectoru is
determined by the right-hand
rule
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OpenGL Fill-Area Functions
All polygons must be convex
Polygons Vertices should be given in anti-

Polygon
clockwise direction
Representation  We are watching it from outside of the
object
Polygon Normal
Vectors Default fill style is solid
 By the given color settings
OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions 7 ways of drawing polygons
 Using glRect* function
 Using 6 different symbolic constants
with glBegin .... glEnd
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OpenGL Fill-Area Functions 1.

Polygons

Polygon
Representation

Polygon Normal
Vectors

OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions glRecti(200,100,50,250);

Front face is away from

the camera
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OpenGL Fill-Area Functions 2.
glBegin(GL_POLYGON);
glVertex2iv(p1);
Polygons glVertex2iv(p2); Front face is towards the
glVertex2iv(p3); camera . The points are
Polygon glVertex2iv(p4); given in anti-clockwise
Representation glVertex2iv(p5);
glVertex2iv(p6);
Polygon Normal glEnd();
Vectors

OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions
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OpenGL Fill-Area Functions 3.
glBegin(GL_TRIANGLES);
glVertex2iv(p1);
Polygons Front face is towards the
glVertex2iv(p2);
glVertex2iv(p6); camera . The points are
Polygon glVertex2iv(p3); given in anti-clockwise
Representation glVertex2iv(p4);
glVertex2iv(p5);
Polygon Normal glEnd();
Vectors

OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions
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OpenGL Fill-Area Functions 4.
glBegin(GL_TRIANGLE_STRIP);
glVertex2iv(p1);
Polygons
glVertex2iv(p2);
glVertex2iv(p6);
Polygon glVertex2iv(p3);
Representation glVertex2iv(p5); The points for only first
glVertex2iv(p4); triangle are given in anti-
Polygon Normal glEnd(); clockwise
Vectors

OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions
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OpenGL Fill-Area Functions 5.

glBegin(GL_TRIANGLE_FAN);
Polygons glVertex2iv(p1);
glVertex2iv(p2);
glVertex2iv(p3); The first point of the first
Polygon
glVertex2iv(p4); triangle is the beginning
Representation
glVertex2iv(p5); of the fan. points are
glVertex2iv(p6); given in anti-clockwise
Polygon Normal glEnd();
Vectors

OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions
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OpenGL Fill-Area Functions 6.
glBegin(GL_QUADS);
glVertex2iv(p1);
Polygons
glVertex2iv(p2);
glVertex2iv(p3);
Polygon The quadrilateral points
glVertex2iv(p4);
Representation are given in anti-clockwise
glVertex2iv(p5);
glVertex2iv(p6);
Polygon Normal glVertex2iv(p7);
Vectors glVertex2iv(p8);
glEnd();
OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions
 17
OpenGL Fill-Area Functions 7.

glBegin(GL_QUAD_STRIP);
Polygons glVertex2iv(p1);
glVertex2iv(p2);
glVertex2iv(p3); The first quadrilateral
Polygon glVertex2iv(p4);
Representation points are given in anti-
glVertex2iv(p5); clockwise
glVertex2iv(p6);
Polygon Normal glVertex2iv(p7);
Vectors glVertex2iv(p8);
glEnd();
OpenGL Fill-Area
Functions
Any Question?