I took this course to literally try something different and frankly it sounded like a fun, cool course (as what an elective class should be like?); and I admit it definitely is different than anything we've learned in the program. You will be programming in C++ within visual studio. One thing to know is that there is separate lecture videos from the 'lecture slides' and the actual 'project lecture video', just make sure you make use of the Resources page link (not Canvas) he gives you as it kinda can be all over the place lol. The beginning of the class can be a bit confusing, it took me a bit of asking around to figure out the difference between initgraphics and display methods and why to place code in one versus the other. The rest of the class is building off of that. This class is fairly easy as if you do the work, you will likely get an A. You won't need to read too much into the slides (frankly the topics are very confusing especially in the latter half of class) and try to focus on knowing what the code does. The final project you will determine what you want to create, and tbh if you don't end up hitting all the requirements you defined I believe as long as you put in the hard work you will still get an A. I didn't use too much of the help resources (TA, ED posts) but I did email the prof a few times and he seemed very helpful. His videos and walkthroughs are great as well.

Submitted Mon Jan 08 2024

This class is a lot of fun if you're interested in the topic. Graphics is extremely complicated, but it's presented in a digestible way and you're given a lot of scaffolding to work on the skills covered by each project. The workload in the class is pretty light, with extremely easy quizzes each week and six projects where a lot of the harder parts are basically done for you. There are also two exams that are open note. As others have mentioned, there are prerecorded lectures as well as weekly interactive live lectures, which are also recorded. There are also occasional interesting guest speakers who work in industry as well. Office hours are live video calls, which is nice. For the final project, you propose any render you want that's doable in a week. If I had a criticism of this class, it's that it's honestly too easy. If you are passionate about the subject, you'll have to do a lot of work outside of what is assigned in the class to be able to do much independently. It does provide a great overview of the field, and the lectures in the last half of the course cover a lot of important topics, but those things don't get reinforced in exercises or assignments because of how light the workload is, so you'll have to follow up and experiment on your own time. Half of the course time is spent moving very slowly through a deprecated pipeline for creating graphics. It's understandable to start there because it's easier to learn, but spending 5 weeks doing graphics that way eats up a lot of course time. If you're serious about graphics, I would recommending browsing through the lecture slides for upcoming modules when you're writing your final project proposal and try to find some things in there to take time to implement. You should also check out the University of Utah Intro to Graphics course on Youtube by Prof. Yuksel.

Submitted Tue Dec 19 2023

This is my favorite course I have taken so far. Professor Bailey is my favorite instructor as well. There are 7 projects, 2 test, and weekly quizzes. You have to get a 97% on everything to get an A in the class, but it is easy to get 100% on the projects as long as you follow the instructions. The tests are open notes as well. This class uses OpenGL and I think I learned a ton about computer graphics. The course is also really fun and by the end I was amazed at the final project I was able to create. You can do anything you want for the final project and I made a 40 second animated video. There is a lot of sample code throughout the course, so as long as you pay attention to the videos and know exactly what you are manipulating, the projects aren't too difficult. I 100% recommend this course. It is only available in the fall.

Submitted Tue Dec 19 2023

Make sure you ace the projects because the final is more difficult than anything else in the class.

Submitted Tue Dec 13 2022

Start the programming assignments early, there are a few tricky things to setup but professor Bailey provides a good amount of starter code and examples. The most difficult assignment was the shaders assignment (Project 4), which was the only one where I was stressed and turned it in late using one of the bonus days (you get 5 and can use up to 2 per assignment). Apparently it was enough trouble that they were kind enough to push the due date back a few days so everyone had more time on it. The class has weekly quizzes, 2 exams and 6 projects. The exams and quizzes are both open notes. Altogether a fun class if you're interested in computer graphics with OpenGL, only available in the Fall term.

Submitted Mon Dec 05 2022

Great creative class with Prof. Bailey. The project requirements are straightforward. Reports consist of screenshots and a video link. As long as the rubric is met, you get full points. 450 is less hand-holding than 475 but the main skeleton code is given. Assignment hints are still helpful. Quizzes come straight from notes (mainly code comment highlights). It's nice to see how creative your peers are also!

Submitted Thu Oct 20 2022