Computer Graphics: From Then to Now

Abstract

Computer graphics have always been the darling of the software world. Laypeople can appreciate computer graphics more easily than, say, increasing the speed of a sort algorithm by 3 percent or adding automatic tint control to a spreadsheet program. You are likely to hear more people say “Coooool!” at your nicely rendered image of Saturn on your iPad than at a Visual Basic script in Microsoft Word (unless, of course, a Visual Basic script in Microsoft Word can render Saturn; then that really would be cool). The cool factor goes up even more when said renderings are on a device you can carry around in your back pocket. Let’s face it—the folks in Silicon Valley are making the life of art directors on science-fiction films very difficult. After all, imagine how hard it must be to design a prop that looks more futuristic than a Samsung Galaxy Tab or an iPad. (Even before Apple’s iPhone was available for sale, the prop department at ABC’s Lost borrowed some of Apple’s screen iconography for use in a two-way radio carried by a mysterious helicopter pilot.)

To predict the future and appreciate the present, you must understand the past. —Probably said by someone sometime