1.6 Applications of computer graphics

The development of computer graphics has been driven both by the needs of the user community and by advances in hardware and software.

The applications of computer graphics are many and varied.
In this section, we look briefly at some application areas that use computer graphics, to demonstrate the range of situations that can benefit from graphics. These applications can be divided into four major areas:

	Display of information.
	Design.
	Simulation and animation.
	User interfaces.

Graphs and Charts

An early application for CG is the display of simple data graphs, usually plotted on a character printer. Graphs and charts are commonly used to summarize financial, statistical, mathematical, scientific, engineering, and economic data for research reports, managerial summaries, consumer information bulletins, and other type of publications.

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

A variety of commercial graphing packages are available, and workstation devices, and service bureaus exist for converting screen displays into film, slides, or overhead transparencies for use in presentations or archiving. Typical examples of data plots are line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, and other displays showing relationships between multiple parameters, in two dimensions, three dimensions, or higher-dimensional spaces.
Computer-Aided Design (CAD)

A major use of CG is in design processes. Professions such as engineering and architecture are concerned with design.

Computer aided design (CAD) or [Computer-aided drafting and design (CADD)] and Computer aided manufacture (CAM) are two important applications under CG. CAD is a generic term that encompasses any activity where a computer aids in the design of a product.

CAD methods are now routinely used in the design of buildings, automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, textiles, and a multitude of other products. CAM is the use of the computer to aid in the manufacture or production of a part exclusive of the design process.

Software packages for CAD applications such as AutoCAD typically provide the designer with a multi-window environment. The various windows can show enlarged sections or different views of objects.

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

Virtual-Reality Environments

A more recent application of computer graphics is in the creation of virtual-reality environments in which a user can interact with the objects in a three-dimensional scene. Specialized hardware devices provide three-dimensional viewing effects and allow the user to "pick up" objects in a scene as shown in figure 1.25.

Figure 1.25: A women wears a head-mounted display and data gloves to interact with a virtual world

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

Scientific analysis and Visualization

Producing graphical representations for scientific, engineering and medical data sets and processes is another fairly new application of computer graphics which is generally referred to as scientific visualization.

Scientific data are often complex, and relationships among the variables of an experiment can be difficult to visualize. Graphics provides a superb tool for presenting scientific information in a way that can be easily grasped. When data are displayed in the right way, you often have new insights into the underlying process you are investigating. Figure 1.26 is an example of the graphical display of complex scientific data.

In the figure, a surface is seen to undulate in a fashion the eye can grasp immediately. The height of the surface represents one quantity (such as temperature or viscosity) that is displayed against two other quantities to produce a three-dimensional plot. By contrast, if these data were presented as just a table of numbers, one would have to study the table laboriously in order to obtain the same information.

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

Several powerful programs, for instance, Mathematica, MatLab, Mathcad, etc. have been developed that allow a user to enter equations and "rules" pertaining to various quantities and then to see the resulting objects displayed in some fashion. For an example, refer to figure 1.27.

Figure 1.27: Mathematica displays of (a) a complex mathematical surface and (b) mathematically defined solid object.

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

Computer Art

Computer graphics methods are widely used in both fine art and commercial art applications. Artists use a variety of computer methods and tools, including special purpose hardware, artist's paintbrush programs, other pain packages, specially developed software, symbolic mathematics packages (such as Mathematica), CAD packages, and animation packages that provide facilities for designing object shapes and specifying object motion.

Figure 1.28 gives a figurative representation of the use of a paintbrush program that allows an artist to "paint" pictures on the screen of a video monitor.

Figure 1.28: Cartoon drawing produced with a paintbrush program

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

Fine artists use a variety of other computer technologies to produce images. To create pictures such as the one shown in figure 1.29(a), the artist uses a combination of three-dimensional modeling packages, texture mapping, drawing programs, and CAD software. Figure 1.29(b) shows another example of computer art.

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

Graphical User Interfaces

It is common now for applications software to provide a graphical user interface (GUI). The user interface is the part of a computer and its software that people can see, hear, touch, talk to, or otherwise understand or direct.

Our interaction with computers has become dominated by a visual paradigm that includes windows, icons, menus, and a pointing device such as a mouse. An icon is a graphical symbol that is often designed to suggest the option it represents.

The advantages of icons are that they take up less screen space than corresponding textual descriptions and they can be understood more quickly if well designed. Figure 1.30 shows some list of icons.

Figure 1.30: List of icons

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

Simulation and Animation

Once graphics systems evolved to be capable of generating sophisticated images in real time, engineers and researchers began to us them as simulators. One of the most important uses has been in the training of pilots.

Graphical flight simulators have proved both to increase safety and to reduce training expenses. The success of flight simulators led to the use of computer graphics for animation in the TV, motion picture, and advertising industries. 3D Animation Industry

Computer graphics methods are now commonly used in making motion pictures, movies, music videos, television shows, and 3D animation. 3D animation which falls into the larger field of 3D computer graphics is a general term describing an entire industry that utilizes 3D animation computer software and hardware in many types of productions. 3D animation is used in three primary industries:

Entertainment industry: It is dedicated to creating and selling entertainment to an audience. It is the most widely recognized of the three primary 3D animation industries and includes film, television, video games, and advertising.

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

		Film: The film industry is one of the largest industries using 3D animation. Two primary types of films are created in the 3D animation realm: Fully animated films. Visual effects films In fully animated films, all the visual elements onscreen are created in 3D animation software and rendered. Examples include Toy Story, Monsters vs. Alien, and Shrek. Visual effects films are typically shot with real actor, but the backgrounds or other effects are computer generated. Examples include Sky Captain and the World of tomorrow, Jurassic park, and Torn. Visual effects films are different from fully animated feature films in that they are shot by a regular movie crew. A visual effects supervisor helps with camera work and with collecting any other data needed for the addition of the visual effects. Then the completed shots are sent to visual effects studios to complete parts or the whole sequence of effects as needed.
		Television: Computer-animated commercials are seen regularly on television, and some very impressive animations are being integrated into feature movies. 3D animation is still trying to make its mark in the television industry. Creating a single 3D animated television show is quite expensive and time-consuming. Still, several of today's shows are being created with 3D software, including South Park, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Star Wars: The Clone Ways. A more common usage of 3D animation in television is the addition of 3D visualizations to regular shows on networks ...

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

		...such as the Discovery Health Channel, History channel, and science channel. These visualizations typically are used in educational shows to help the audience understand certain topics. Compared with the film industry, television shows need to be made in months and not years and usually doesn't have the overall quality of that in film. Moreover, the budgets are tremendously smaller.
		Video Games: Video games covers a wide range of products from basic games played on mobile phones to games played online by a small community of gamers. The video game industry enables artists to use 3D software to create virtual worlds and characters that will be played in a video game engine. This industry is massively popular and is at least as profitable as the film industry. There are two primary fields in the video game industry: (1) in-game 3D animation, which creates the actual game world that players are immersed in while playing the video game; (2) game cinematic, which are cinematically created cut scenes of a video game that help drive the story forward in between levels. Video game cinematic is like mini movies between levels that allow the game developer to control the storyline of a game while the player progresses. The creation of in-game art is limited by the hardware and software that is used to play video games in real time. For example, a game destined for a console such as the Xbox360 or PlayStation 3 requires low-resolution models in order to allow numerous characters to appear in the game at once, along with the background elements and all the props and effects. Game cinematic artists are similar to film 3D animators. They do similar work but typically in a faster timeline.

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

Advertising: The advertising industry is all about very short animations. Typically, only 10 seconds to 4 or 5 minutes is needed to show or describe a product or service. Like film and television, 3D advertising animation can utilize an all-3D animated form or incorporate mixed-media visual effects for the final overall look. Typical projects in this industry are television commercials, web commercials which can include print ads, and still imagery. A lesser-known side of advertising is product visualization, in which the artist creates a 3D model to serve as a prototype of an actual product to show to an investor to create an interest in that product. Advertising can have a very high level of quality but is created in a very short amount of time.

Scientific: The scientific industries utilizing 3D animation include medicine, law, architecture, and product visualization. The use of 3D in these industries is not well known, however, because the final products are aimed at a specific audience and rarely are seen by the general public.

Medicine: The medical industry uses 3D animation in many ways, from creating a visualization of a specific medical event to depicting a biological reaction. For example, you can demonstrate what happens when plaque will build up in your arteries and will block blood flow to the heart, causing heart attack. The most popular medical 3D animation type is medical visualization used for education or marketing. This animation is used to educate the public and medical staff on new techniques or drugs. It is also used in marketing new medical products to investors or medical professionals.

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

		Law: Law animation falls into two fields: forensics and accident reconstruction and simulation. This type of animation is created to prove, disprove, or elaborate on facts in a court case, to help either the defense or prosecution. It can be used, for example, to prove that a gunman could or could not have shot someone from a specific location or to demonstrate a car accident scenario. Another aspect of this 3D animation field is the use of 3D laser scanning of a crime scene. This 3D laser scanning can create a perfect replica of a crime scene to be used as a reference when needed.
		Architecture: Today architects us 3D software with CAD programs not only to create models, but to test and visualize those models to see what structures would look like photo realistically before they actually created.
		Product Visualization: In product visualization, the artist creates a 3D model to serve as a prototype of an actual product to show to an investor to create an interest in that product. It is similar to architectural rendering in that products can be designed and tested in 3D software and then rendered to show investors. After the design is drawn up, a 3D artist will create a 3D model of the product in 3D design software to test its construction. Then a visualization animation will be created to show how the product will work and how it is assembled if needed.

1.6 Applications of computer graphics

Other: The 3D animation industry is in its infancy, and the technology that is driving this art form is changing on a yearly basis. This rapid pace of change necessitates the "other" category because some fields are so new that they do not fit into established mainstream categories. A trio of these new 3D animation fields is art, augmented reality, and projection mapping.

		Art: With the recent progress in 3D computer graphics technology, images of very complex scenes can be synthesized. Using 3D animation in art is just what it sounds like: the creation of 3D elements incorporated in a final product to be shown in a gallery or other art-exhibition venue.
		Augmented Reality: Augmented reality might be considered by some as an advertising form of 3D animation. In augmented reality, a user looks at the real world and sees 3D elements added to it.
		Projection Mapping: Projection mapping is a new technique that can make any surface, typically large buildings, into a video display. This technique uses projectors to project onto a building a 3D animation displaying new and exciting effects such as destruction of the building or lighting on that surface.