MW
CIS560: Computer Graphics and CIS562: Computer Animation is required. Exceptions will be based on the student’s ability to contribute meaningfully to the course and research goals.
The goal of the course is to review state-of-the art research in the fields of computer graphics and animation as well as provide students with working knowledge of how to convert theory to practice by developing an associated graphics/animation authoring tool. Working in teams of two, students will design and develop an authoring tool that integrates three features/effects/algorithms from the primary areas of computer graphics and animation listed below to produce an authoring tool that facilitates the creation of a new type of user interaction, animation/simulation capability or 3D graphics special effect.
Graphics and Animation feature set areas include:
· Character animation
· Facial animation
· Physically-based modeling and simulation
· Shaders (i.e. surface properties such as hair, fur, ice, etc.)
· Clothing Simulation
· 3D Modeling
· Rendering and Lighting
· Natural phenomena – (particles, smoke, fire, explosions)
· Natural phenomena – (fluids, water)
· Artificial life
· Intelligent agents and/or behavioral animation (flocking, crowds, etc.)
· Game AI
· Image-based modeling and rendering
Research papers published in the SigGraph Conference proceedings over the period 2001-2004 will provide the basis for the three features/functionality/special effects that can be selected for implementation in the authoring tool. Each group will analyze the need and user requirements for the tool they plan to develop, prepare a formal software design document, construct a project work plan, develop the authoring tool functionality and user interface, test the design and demonstrate the authoring of associated content. A plug-in to standard authoring tools such as Maya or 3DSMax must also be developed to enable importing of appropriate assets and/or exporting of results.
The course will be comprised of primers, lectures, student presentations and the authoring tool group project. Each student will be responsible for presenting two primers and at least two SIGGRAPH papers to the class. Papers are to be selected from the SIGGRAPH Conference proceedings (2001-2004). See CIS 660: Guide to Presentations for more detail on the presentation requirements. Lecture topics to be covered include: product design, human/computer interfaces, software design and development methodologies and a review of authoring tool APIs. Student group presentations include bi-weekly design reviews and project milestone demonstrations. Grading will be based as follows: approximately 40% on student presentations, 10% on the quality of the authoring tool design document and 50% on the features and functionality implemented in the authoring tool. Correspondence between the target feature set of the design document and that of the final implementation, as well as achievement of milestones when planned also will be taken into account in the final grading.