Time: Tuesday, 4-6pm
Location: BA 5181
Instructor: Aaron Hertzmann (hertzman@dgp.toronto.edu)
Office: BA 5268
Office hours: drop-in or by appointment
Web page: www.cs.toronto.edu/~csc2521h

Synopsis

Non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) is an area of computer graphics that focuses on enabling a wide variety of expressive styles for digital art. In contrast to traditional computer graphics, which has focused on photorealism, NPR is inspired by artistic styles such as painting, drawing, technical illustration, and animated cartoons. NPR has appeared in movies and video games in the form of "toon shaders," as well as in architectural illustration and experimental animation.

The goal of this course is to study the state-of-the-art in NPR and to develop new insights as to how art and illustration can be modeled as computational processes. We will read both seminal and recent papers in NPR. We will also read a few sources from beyond the field, such as from art and neuroscience. Assignments will require implementing the fundamental tools of NPR (processing images and 3D surfaces) and a final project will explore other directions.

Textbook

There is no textbook. However, you will be required to read the book Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud at some point during the term. I've ordered the book in the bookstore; you can also get it from the library or from Amazon.

Prerequisites

CS grads or instructor permission; computer graphics (e.g., CSC 418/2504); some enthusiasm for art, animation, comics, cartoons, etc.

Requirements

• Read all readings for each session before that class.
• Write reaction reports/answer discussion questions for the discussion papers.
• Participate in discussions.
• Present research papers in class
• Written and programming assignments

Course mark

• 20%: Presentations and class discussion
• 10%: Reaction reports
• 30%: Assignment 1: Image processing
• 40%: Assignment 2: 3D

Deadline policy

5% of the mark will be deducted for each day late.