Engineering Computer Graphics

Lecture 2. Geometric Elements

GEOMETRIC ELEMENTS
 Types of Geometric Elements

• Dimension (Topological Dimensions)

– 0D: Points
– 1D: Lines, Curves, Conic Curves, Freeform Curves
– 2D: Planes, Surfaces
– 3D: Solids
 Points

• Theoretical location.
• No width, No height, No depth.
• Small cross (+) with approximately 1/8” long
dashes.
• Node is another word for a point in computer
graphics.
• A locus is all possible positions of a point.
Examples of Using Points
 Lines

• A geometric primitive that has length and direction.

• No thickness.
• A line can be straight, curved, or a combination of those.
• Types of lines;
– Parallel lines
– Nonparallel lines
– Perpendicular lines
– Intersecting line
– Tangent line
Examples of Lines
Examples of Lines
Examples of Lines
 Curves

• Single-curved vs. Double-curved

– Single-curved lines are collection of points consisting a line on a plane
• Circle, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola, etc.
– Double-curved lines are collection of points consisting a line which are not
on the same plane.
• Cylindrical helix, conical helix, etc.
• Regular vs. Irregular
– Regular curve is a curve which has single radius and center point.
• Arc (constant radius), circle, etc.
– Irregular curve is a curve which has varying radius and center point
• Parabola, hyperbola, etc.
 Circle

• Definition: A circle is a simple shape of

Euclidean geometry that is the set of all points in
a plane that are at a given distance from a given
point, the centre. The distance between any of
the points and the centre is called the radius. It
can also be defined as the locus of a point
equidistant from a fixed point.
Terms related to Circle
 Conic Curves

• Definition: In mathematics, a conic section (or just

conic) is a curve obtained as the intersection of a cone
(more precisely, a right circular conical surface) with a
plane. In analytic geometry, a conic may be defined as
a plane algebraic curve of degree 2. There are a
number of other geometric definitions possible. One of
the most useful, in that it involves only the plane, is that
a conic consists of those points whose distances to
some point, called a focus, and some line, called a
directrix, are in a fixed ratio, called the eccentricity.
Conic Curves

Table of Conics, Cyclopaedia, vol 1, p304, 1728

Example of Conic Curves

Parabola Ellipse Hyperbola

 Parabola

• Definition: The parabola

is the locus of points in
that plane that are
equidistant from both the
directrix and the focus.

𝑦 = 𝑥2
 Ellipse

• Definition: a curve on a
plane surrounding two
focal points such that a
straight line drawn from
one of the focal points to
any point on the curve
and then back to the
other focal point has the
same length for every
2 2
point on the curve. 𝑥 − 𝑥𝑐 𝑦 − 𝑦𝑐
+ =1
𝑎2 𝑏2
 Hyperbola

• Definition: If the plane

intersects both halves of
the double cone but does
not pass through the
apex of the cones then
the conic is a hyperbola.
𝑥2 𝑦2
− =1
𝑎2 𝑏2
𝑦2 𝑥2
− =1
𝑎2 𝑏2
 Freeform Curves

• Interpolation vs. Approximation

– Interpolation creates a smooth curve by connecting
all control points
• Spline
– Approximation creates a smooth curve by going
through most, but not all control points
• Bezier
Freeform Curves
 Surface

• A surface is;
– a finite portion of a plane
– the outer face of an object bounded by an identifiable
perimeter
• Analogy with a relation between point and line
– A surface represents the path of a moving line (generatrix,
which can be straight or curved line)
– The path that the generatrix travels is called the directrix,
which can be a point, a straight line, or a curved line.
Examples of Surfaces
CONSTRUCTION OF GEOMETRIC
ELEMENTS
Drawing Parallel Lines
Locating Tangent Points
Constructing Arc Tangent to 2 Lines
Constructing Arc Tangent to 2 Lines
Constructing Arc Tangent to 2 Lines
Constructing Arc Tangent to a Line and an Arc
Constructing Arc Tangent to a Line and an Arc
Constructing Arc Tangent to 2 Arcs
Locating the Center of a Circle
Locating the Center of a Circle
Locating the Center of a Circle
Constructing a Parabola [Tangent Method]
Constructing a Parabola [Parallelogram Method]
Constructing an Equilateral Hyperbola
Constructing Ellipse [1]
Constructing Ellipse [2]
Constructing Ellipse [3]
Bisecting Angle
Transferring Angle
Constructing an Inscribed Square
Constructing an Cirsumscribed Square
Constructing a Pentagon
Constructing a Inscribed Hexagon
Constructing a Circumscribed Hexagon
 Line Drawing Techniques

You may not need T

if you draw horizontal line
properly.
 Line Drawing Techniques

You may not need T

if you draw horizontal line
properly.
Line Drawing Techniques