Three Dimensional Sculptured Surface Graphics
Supervisor
Suitable for
Abstract
The aim of this project is to produce a system on which it is possible to design and render (display) a complicated surface, of the sort used in many graphics systems. These surfaces are defined by a number of points in space, with the surface itself fitting smoothly between these points. Thus the required system must make it easy for the user to define these points. This can be done by starting with a regular array of points in a plane, which the user can tweak using the computer's mouse. To be useful as a design tool the system should be totally interactive: the user should be able to use the windowing system to view the grid of control points from any viewing angle, using icons to control the interaction. When the user is satisfied with the set of control points he should be able to see a display of the smooth surface itself.
Several variations of this project are possible, depending on the way that the graphical user interface is constructed, the types of surfaces considered, and the degree of realism in the display of the surface.
The system could be written on some machine that you have easy access to (e.g., a PC), or using a Sun (in which case it would probably have to be written in C or Java to make full use of the Sun graphics)