M1 - Foundations of Rendering Flashcards
What is rendering?
The process of creating a 2-Dimensional image from data.
Can rendering be applied to 3D data or only 2D data?
It can be applied to both
What sort of data is rendered?
Position of elements (points, lines, shapes, etc)
Color
Modifiers (size, opacity, blending modes)
Early computers rendered using ___________ displays
VECTOR
What were vector graphics in the past?
Series of points, and lines connecting them.
2-D points ( x , y )
What are Vector Displays?
A type of CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), contained electron guns that be targeted at some location creating a point. Quick movement of “laser” point drew a line. Adding additional points created shapes.
Could Vector displays project detailed shapes?
Only outlines were possible. Imagine filling a large shape with only the tip of a pencil. Possible but not fast
Vector displays were MONOCHROMATIC, what does that mean?
Monochromatic means containing or using only one color.
Could Vector displays represent 2D and 3D?
Yes, Vector displays could represent 2D and 3D
What is Vector Art/Vector Graphic?
Artwork created from a series of connected points (called paths) to create shapes
Paths are calculated from ____________ _____________ to create smooth curves (Vector Artwork)
source points
When VECTOR ART is displayed, the source is converted to a ____________ ______________
raster image and displayed as pixels
What is rasterization?
The process of converting a vector art image to a raster image to be displayed as pixels.
What are the benefits of Vector images?
Scaleability, vector images can scale up and down without loss of quality.
Do raster or vector images use pixels?
Raster Images
Can images be converted from vector to raster bath and forth?
Vector -> Raster , no problem
Raster -> Vector, most likely won’t work. (errors in conversion)
Modern displays use ______ as a way of representing data
pixels
What is a pixel?
smallest unit of data in a display. Consists of red, green, blue. EVERYTHING is pixels in the end.
EVERYTHING is ___________ in the end. 2D, 3D, vector art, video, etc.
PIXELS
What is another term for a printed pixels?
DOTS
What is DPI?
Dots Per Inch
What data does a pixel hold?
Typically RGB (0-255) 8 bit unsigned char
What does BPP measure?
Bits Per Pixel (range of color values a pixel can have)
Modern systems typically use 24 or 16 bit color?
Either
What does screen resolution measure?
Pixels
Did early vector displays have resolutions?
No, it wasn’t a concept yet.
How do you measure PIXEL DENSITY?
Pixels per Inch (PPI)
Higher PPI leads to clearer/cleaner image
Does screen resolution change with physical dimensions?
No. You can have large low resolution, or small high resolution devices.
What are problems with raster images?
Does not scale/resize well. A raster image does not have a algorithm to handle transformations like a vector image
What is ALIASING?
Result of SAMPLING some data and reconstructing it, with inaccuracies. In graphics, it manifests as jagged edges.
What manifests as jagged edges?
Aliasing
What is ANTI ALIASING?
filtering technique to smooth the edge of objects.
What are GPUS?
Graphics Processing Unit, makes it possible to process large of quantities of the same type of data (floating-point numbers) simultaneously.
How is GPU performance measured?
FLOPs , number of floating point operations per second.
Can get into billions (gigaFLOP) or even trillions per second.
Benchmarking
