Module manager: Rafael Kuffner dos Anjos
Email: r.kuffnerdosanjos@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2024/25
| COMP5891M | Foundations of Computer Graphics |
| COMP5893M | Modelling and Animation |
COMP5812M Foundations of Modelling and Rendering COMP5821M Geometric Processing COMP5822M High-Performance Graphics COMP5823M Animation and Simulation
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module solidifies foundations of understanding for the physics, mathematics and algorithms underlying all computer graphics. It then explains the concepts, algorithms and methods with which rich scenes are rendered for both offline media such as movies and interactive applications such as games. It provides insight on the features of modern graphics hardware and software systems used in this process. The module is organised around key technologies and principles exploited in these resource-constrained applications, exploring how advanced rendering tasks achieve high visual veracity within a fixed budget of computational resources.
The module builds on a foundation of computer graphics towards an understanding of theory and demonstrated practice of modern, advanced rendering techniques. The module covers both cinematic offline rendering as well as real-time rendering, with a focus on the latter specifically in the context of stand-alone systems (common desktops or laptops).
The module will:
- Detail modern computer systems, their architecture in the context of computer graphics, and the challenges that such systems bring.
- Introduce and detail modern graphics APIs (e.g. OpenGL, Vulkan API).
- Introduce, detail and discuss modern graphics/rendering techniques in the context of real-time and offline rendering, including light transfer, computation of illumination (direct and indirect), texturing, render-to-texture, shadowing, as well as common techniques for accelerated rendering (e.g., deferred shading).
- Discuss what approximations and simplifications these methods make to enable high-performance rendering, and how these trade between physical realism, perceived realism and computational cost.
- Discuss how rendering techniques can appropriately debugged, analysed and evaluated.
Students will explore presented theory, methods and techniques through exercises and courseworks, in which they will work with a modern API such as Vulkan.
On successful completion of this module a student will have demonstrated the ability to:
1. understand optical physics relevant to computer graphics, such as reflections, refractions, diffraction and scattering.
2. understand and implement techniques in projective and ray-traced image rasterisation
3. understand material acquisition, modelling and representation, including textures, PBR, BRDFs and BSDF’s
4. understand the architecture of modern graphics systems (hardware and software), and the implications thereof when writing high performance renderers.
5. be able to utilise a modern high-performance graphics API to implement, debug and evaluate modern rendering techniques.
6. understand, describe, utilise and evaluate rendering techniques, and chose appropriate solutions based on requirements in terms of realism and available computational resources.
Technical, Problem solving, Active learning
Raytracing, Scattering, and Pathtracing
Rasterisation and OpenGL
Texturing, Sampling, storage.
Signal and Image Processing
The Vulkan API
Anti-aliasing, blending
Shadows, global illumination
Render-to-texture, post-processing, image-based techniques
Ray tracing, hardware extensions and acceleration structures.
Modern GPU hardware features and approaches
Alternative rendering solutions (e.g. NPR, DVR, Voxels)
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Lecture | 13 | 2 | 26 |
| Practical | 16 | 3 | 48 |
| Seminar | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Independent online learning hours | 48 | ||
| Private study hours | 164 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 88 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 300 | ||
Students will have two regular lab slots of three hours every week, where staff will be available for support in completing their assessment tasks.
The nature of the first coursework (Pass/fail, with in-person Q&A) allows for multiple sessions of demonstration and formative feedback on their existing solution. Students are given chances to fix their mistakes to achieve a correct solution of the coursework.
Three “online learning support” sessions are also planned to support students in completing tutorials and key tasks for their coursework, which will focus on catching up any student falling behind.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment | Up to 2 pieces of Coursework (50% each) | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 1/2/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team