REALISM IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL

GRAPHICS

Co-ordinate System

REALISM IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL
GRAPHICS
Many computer graphics applications
involve the display of three-dimensional
objects and scenes.
Computer-aided design.
Simulation.

These
applications
differ
from
twodimensional applications not only in the
added dimension: they also require concern
for realism in the display of objects.

 Producing

a realistic image of a threedimensional

scene
on
a
two
dimensional display presents many
problems.
How is depth, the third dimension, to
be displayed on the screen?
How are parts of objects that are
hidden by other objects to be
identified and removed from the
image?
How can lighting, color, shadows, and
texture contribute to the rendering?
How is the three-dimensional world to
be modeled in a computer so that
images can be generated?

TECHNIQUES FOR ACHIEVING REALISM

On

a graphics display, as on a painter's

canvas, it is simply impractical to produce
an image that is a perfectly realistic
representation of an actual scene.
Instead, we need techniques that take into
account
the different kinds of realism needed by
applications,
the amount of processing required to
generate the image,
the capabilities of the display hardware,
the amount of detail recorded in the model
of the scene,
and the perceptual effects of the image on
the observer.

 As

applications change, as display hardware

improves, or as processing becomes less
expensive, we can expect new techniques for
visualizing
three-dimensional
scenes
to
emerge.

The

basic problem addressed by visualization

techniques is sometimes called depth cueing.
When a three-dimensional scene is projected
onto a two dimensional display screen,
information about the depth of 'objects in the
images tends to be reduced or lost entirely.
Techniques that provide depth cues
are
designed to restore or enhance the
communication of depth to the observer.

 The

list below enumerates several popular

visualization techniques.

1.parallel projection
technique,
the
parallel
projection, is illustrated in Figure -1,
where a point on the screen is identified
with a point in the three-dimensional scene
by a line perpendicular to the screen. An
architect often draws three such parallel
projections to illustrate a house, a plan
view and two elevation views.

simple

Figure -1 Several parallel projections can be

used to show the structure of a threedimensional object.

2.Perspective projection

The perspective projection, illustrated in Figure - 2, is perhaps

the most common projection technique, familiar to us because
the images formed by the eye and by lenses on photographic
film are perspective projections.
The perspective projection conveys depth information by
making distant objects smaller than near ones. If objects have
only limited depth variation, however, the perspective
foreshortening may not provide an adequate depth cue and an
ambiguity appears.
Figure -3a shows a "wire-frame" drawing of a block that is
ambiguous: the block could be oriented as in Figure -3b or as in
Figure -3c.
The ambiguity seems to disappear if the perspective effect is
exaggerated as if the image were generated with a wide-angle
lens (Figure -3d).
The exaggeration has some undesirable side effects in dynamic
graphics applications: people are unaccustomed to viewing the
world through a wide-angle lens, and the displayed objects may
therefore appear distorted as they move about.

Figure -2 A perspective view.

Figure 20-3 Ambiguities can arise from wire-frame

drawings. The object (a) could be either (b) or (c).
Exaggerated perspective (d) suggests the figure
resembles object (b).

3. Intensity cues
One

depth cue that is not expensive to

implement in hardware is a modulation of
the intensity of lines with depth; lines far
away appear fainter than those near the
viewer (Figure-4). On a raster display, a
line can be made wider near the observer
than it is when far away.
These techniques are useful for simple
objects. As the complexity of the image
increases, the effectiveness of the cue
usually decreases.
In addition, if the range of depths of
nearby lines is small, the intensities or
widths may not vary enough to be
noticeable.

Figure 20-4 Intensity modulation is used to

brighten parts of the image closer to the
observer.

4.Stereoscopic views.
A dramatic depth cue is provided by generating two
stereoscopic images. One image is shown to the left eye
and is generated from a view appropriate to the location
of that eye, while the other is generated analogously for
the right eye (Figure 20-5). Several techniques can be
used to permit each eye to see only the image intended
for it. Two separate screens can be used, one for each
eye .
In another method, the two images are alternately flashed
on a single screen about 20 times per second, in
synchrony with shutters held in front of the eyes.
Still another method polarizes the light from the two
images in different directions and has the viewer, wear
glasses with polarizing material that admits only one
image to each eye (Figure -6).
Some people can "fuse" two separate stereo images like
those in Figure -5 without the aid of any separation
mechanism.

Figure -5 A stereo pair. To help fuse the two

images. place a piece of paper perpendicular to
the page so that the left eye sees only the left
image and the right eye only the right image.

 Figure

-6 Polarizers used to show the image on the bottom half

of the CRT to the right eye only and that on the top half to the
left eye only. A horizontal half-silvered mirror is used to
combine the polarized images. Note that the upper image is
displayed upside down.

5.Kinetic depth effect

Depth relationships can be understood by
watching an object move.
A very revealing motion is rotation about a
vertical axis. Lines near the viewer move more
rapidly than those far away; lines on opposite
sides of the rotation axis appear to move in
opposite directions, like a merry-go-round.
Figure -7 illustrates the effect:
flip the pages of the book and watch the image
rotate. If you stop flipping, the relative depths
can no longer be determined.
On a display, the effect requires fairly rapid
generation of a sequence of rotated images
and may require special hardware to perform
the calculations.

6. Hidden-line elimination
The relative depth of objects in a scene is
readily apparent if the lines that are hidden
from view by opaque objects are removed from
the image (Figure -8). Most of the ambiguities
of wireframe images disappear if hidden lines
are
removed.
This
technique
requires
considerable computation but is nevertheless
useful for producing finished pictures of a
scene.

Fig-8 Hidden-line elimination gives a linedrawing a more realistic appearance.

7.Shading with hidden surfaces removed.

On

a raster-scan display showing

the color and intensity of surfaces
helps to convey the depth and
shape of an object.
The frontispiece illustrates images
in which the colors of surfaces, the
direction of incident light and the
orientation of the surface with
respect to the viewer are used to
calculate a realistic intensity.

8.Three-dimensional
images.
Someday

it may be possible to generate

synthetically a three-dimensional image
of a scene directly from a computer
model-an automatic model shop!
Two existing methods. Although limited
illustrate the potential of such models.
A
milling machine controlled by a
computer can be used to carve complex
shapes in wood or foam (Figure -9) .
Such a model conveys subtle shape
information far better than a display
image can.

Another

example
is
the
vibrating
varifocal mirror
together with a display it
generates
a
true
three
dimensional virtual image .
The viewer can move around
the image observing it from
different
distances
and
directions positioning himself
to explore spatial relationships
that interest him
(Figure -10).

 Figure

-9 Physical models of objects

constructed from computer models with a
numerically controlled milling machine.
Courtesy Cambridge University.

Figure

20-10 A three-dimensional
virtual image is formed by a mirror
that vibrates and changes focal
length.

None

of
the
visualization
techniques listed above can be
recommended as the "best" one.
Each application will require a
trade-off of realism ,computation
time ,hardware suitability and
perceptual effectiveness.
Many
applications
involving
three-dimensional models may
not require realism at all and are
better
served
by
special
visualization' techniques.

MODELING THREE DIMENSIONAL

SCENES
The

techniques used to generate

different kinds of images of threedimensional scenes all start from a
model of the scene. The model is
needed for two purposes.
First, it is used by viewing algorithms
together with information about the
location of the viewer to synthesize
images of the scene.
Second, it is used to modify and analyze
the objects in the scene, activities.

 The

information in a model of a threedimensional scene can be divided into

two important classes, geometry and
topology.
Geometry
is
concerned
with
measurements, such as the location of a
point or the dimensions of an object .
Topological
information
records
the
structure of a scene: how points are
aggregated to form polygons, how
polygons form objects, and how objects
form scenes.
Auxiliary information such as colors of
surfaces may also be recorded in the
model if the viewing techniques require
it.

Coordinate Systems
The

geometric
model
of
a
threedimensional scene must in some way record
locations of points in a three-dimensional
coordinate system.
We shall choose this system, termed the
world coordinate system, to be a righthanded
three
dimensional
cartesian
coordinate system (Figure -11). Thus the
location of a point, or the endpoint of a
line, is specified by three numbers (x, y, z).
The origin of the world coordinate system,
the directions of its axes, and units of
measurement may be freely chosen, often
for convenience in the application program.

model of buildings in downtown Salt Lake

City, for example, might place the origin at
the Mormon Temple, the x axis pointing east,
the y axis north, and the z axis up.
This
choice simplifies the modeling of
common features: streets are parallel to axes
and
surfaces
of
many
buildings
are
perpendicular to axes.

Figure -11Three kinds of viewing parameters describe the view of a

scene: the viewpoint, the viewing direction, and the aperture.

 When

a view of a three-dimensional scene

is
generated,
a
viewpoint,
viewing
direction, and aperture must be specified.
These parameters are analogous to the
adjutsments made by a photographer
when taking a picture of a real scene:
he selects a location for the camera, a
direction in which to point it, and a lens
that determines how much of the scene
will be included in the picture.
By altering the viewing parameters, the
photographer and the viewer of a
graphics display can change the image to
suit their requirements.

Modeling Objects
A

convenient primitive to use as the

basis for modelling objects is the
polyhedron:
This
permits
the
modeling of familiar objects such as
cubes, parallelepipeds, wedges, and
polygonal prisms.
By increasing the number of faces, a
polyhedron can be constructed that
will approximate any solid object;
this completeness property makes
the
polyhedron
particularly
attractive
as
a
primitive

 An

arbitrary polyhedron can be modelled

by defining its faces; each face is a planar
polygon that can in turn be modelled by
an ordered listing of the vertices of the
polygon or by a similar list of its edges.
For generating wire-frame displays, the
edges of the polyhedron assume primary
importance.
For generating hidden-line or hiddensurface displays, the most important
aspect of the polyhedron is the face: it is
the face that is opaque and causes other
objects to be hidden; it is also the face
that models a reflective surface and must
be shaded properly.

 A face

has two "sides" that must be distinguished:

one side cannot be seen because it faces the interior of
the polyhedron; the other faces outward and is visible.
To make this important distinction, several conventions
can be used in the representation of faces.
One method requires that the vertices of the face be
listed in counter clockwise order when the face is viewed
from outside the polyhedron. Equivalently, we can
record a description of the face normal, a vector
perpendicular to the plane of the face, directed outward
from the polyhedron . The face normal is closely related
to another important attribute, the plane equation of the
face.

plane is represented by four numbers [a b

c d], chosen so that ax + by + Cz + d = 0 is
true if and only if the point (x, y, z) lies in
the plane. If a point does not lie in the plane,
the sign of the nonzero expression ax + by +
Cz + d will determine on which side of the
plane the point lies.
This property allows us to establish the
convention that points "outside" the face will
have positive values of ax + by + Cz + d .
It turns out that the components of the
normal vector can be determined from the
plane equation; the vector is [a b c].
Calculations using the plane equation and
the normal vector will play an important role
in algorithms for hidden-line elimination and
for shading