SIGGRAPH 99 Full Day Course: Non-Photorealistic Rendering

Course Materials

Full course notes (13MB PDF)

Introduction to 3D Non-Photorealistic Rendering: Silhouettes and Outlines (PDF), Aaron Hertzmann

Course Presenters

Stuart Green (course organizer)
LightWork Design Ltd.

Cassidy Curtis
Pacific Data Images

Amy Ashurst Gooch
University of Utah

Bruce Gooch
University of Utah

Aaron Hertzmann
New York University

David Salesin
Microsoft Research and University of Washington

Simon Schofield
Slade School of Fine Art, London

Abstract

In the history of computer graphics, the area of non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) has emerged relatively recently as a subject area in its own right. Its popularity is reflected in the conference programs of the last several SIGGRAPH events, in which a session in each has been set aside to cover the areas of Art, Illustration and Expression . For the research community, NPR represents a gold mine of opportunity, with recent proponents having addressed a wide range of subject matter, including various artistic styles such as pen and ink, watercolor and pencil sketch.

One of the refreshing aspects of NPR is that it brings closer together the disciplines of art and science; its value is far less on the technical brilliance of the techniques but on the aesthetics of the results, and the scope to convey shape, structure and artistic expression. It is an area that requires artists and engineers to work together to solve new and challenging problems in computer graphics. The course will appeal to artists and technologists alike.

In this course we have brought together a number of leading researchers in the field of NPR with artists and industrialists to provide participants with an excellent grounding in this exciting subject. The panel of eight speakers will provide coverage of the various strands of NPR research and applications, including 2D, 2.5D and 3D approaches. The artist's perspective on NPR will be provided, incorporating a critique of different approaches and with reference to the classic techniques of fine art. The application of NPR to areas as diverse as Hollywood movie production and desktop consumer software programs will be covered.