What is Computer Graphics?

The term computer graphics includes almost everything on computers that is not text or sound, though these two elements are used with computer graphics and considered part of the study of the field. Basically, anything that communicates using graphicsentirely or in part, fall under computer graphics.

Today almost every computer can do some graphics, and people have even come to expect to control their computer through icons and pictures rather than just by typing.

In the Computer Graphics Program, we think of computer graphics as drawing and/or rendering pictures on computers, and placing these images with text and/or sound to communicate. The pictures can be photographs, drawings, movies, or simulations—pictures of things which do not yet exist and maybe could never exist.

Four Major Areas of Emphasis:

Computer Graphics Designis directed toward creating graphics that are targeted for the printing press—final destination is paper; components of computer graphics inlcude print graphics and layout and electronic prepress.

Multimedia Authoring is directed toward creating graphics and presentations which are targeted for a monitor or screen; components of multimedia include text, graphics, sound, video, and animation.

Web Design is directed toward creating graphics and other materials for web pages and assemblying them into a web site.

Electronic Publishing is a specific subset of Computer Graphics Design.