Computer Graphics Introduction - How Can I Use Them?

Images are all around us. They can be found in magazines, books, on television, and in movies. Once upon a time, these images had to be created by hand. But advances in technology, especially in the last 20 years, have made computer graphics easy to make.

First of all, what is a computer graphic? Put simply, a computer graphic is any image that has been created or modified using a computer. Some techniques used in computer graphics have been around for a long time, and are simply a computerized way of doing things that have been done by hand. Other techniques are fairly complicated to do by hand, but a computer makes them much easier to do.

One of the most common uses for computer graphics today is retouching photographs. Using a computer, you can do any number of things, from removing blemishes to taking things out of a picture that you don't want in there. With computer graphics, you can cut out part of one image to stand alone or to put in another image. Don't like the color of a shirt? You can change it. Another fun trick is to make the photo a black and white, but with one part of the image in full color. With a good program, you are only limited by your imagination in changing a photo.

As fun as changing photos is, you can do so much more with computer graphics. You can use computer graphics to create headlines that stand out. You can create titles for books, magazines, or even web pages with ease on the computer. Computer graphics allows you to do a lot of things with text, including making them appear 3 dimensional.

Some people like to use computer graphics to "paint" a picture. Computer graphics can be used to make any kind of picture you want, including cartoons and various kinds of art. Using the computer can allow the digital painter to blend colors in ways that are difficult, if not impossible, to do in real life.

One of the most exciting areas of computer graphics in the last decade has to be that of 3D graphics. Now, I'm not talking about making images appear to be 3D like you can with some paint tools. In 3D graphics, you create a 3 dimensional model of the object you want to make, give it texture and color, and render it into an image. Rendering is taking a 3D model and turning it into a graphic image that can be used in various ways.

Why is 3d computer graphics so exciting right now? If you've been to a movie in the last couple of years, particularly a blockbuster, chances are that you've seen computer graphics in action. The images are getting more realistic. That's making it harder to tell what is computer generated and what isn't.

With computer graphics today, you can do just about anything. It takes a lot of time and training to get good, but it can be worth the effort. The great thing is that even learning just the basics you can start impressing your friends. Using computer graphics can make your web pages, posters, and presentations more exciting and visually stimulating.

Would you like to learn more about computer graphics? Do you want to learn what programs are used to do them and how to use those programs? Check out Computer Graphics Resources