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CST 325 - Module 4

This week, we learned about rasterization, OpenGL and WebGL basics, and how the graphics pipeline works.

 Learning about each step in the graphics pipeline took quite some time to understand, but I found the process of learning it rewarding. Rasterization forms the basis of how most real time computer graphics are generated, and it's something that I have heard much about throughout my years using a computer and interacting with graphics, but didn't understand until now.

 What was the most difficult for me at first was understanding how transformation matrices, which we covered last week, work together to "convert" 2D primitives into 3D objects in an arbitrary world, and how they are also responsible for determining what a user sees on a screen and how they can manipulate that view.

 Working with OpenGL/WebGL was much easier relative to the ray tracer from Module 2, even though the code I worked on this week wasn't as concise and elegant as the ray tracer's code. I managed to render a rotating colorful triangle (note: it is not a love triangle), along with implementing a reference grid plane:

Now that I know about the graphics pipeline, I'm excited to see what I'll learn next in working with rasterization. 

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