If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, then this beach ball graphic is worth a 1,000 lines of C++ code. The graphic is one created by computer science students at the University of California, San Diego who took CSE 168 and participated in the 2010 “paint pictures with C++ computer programming code.

That’s certainly the case for the computer science students at the University of California, San Diego who won the 2010 “paint pictures with C++ computer programming code” competition.

Computer science professor Henrik Wann Jensen – winner of a 2004 Academy Award for his work on realistic, computer-generated human skin – taught the class: CSE 168: Rendering Algorithms that finished with the friendly graphics competition.

For their final project, the Rendering Algorithms students pulled together what they’d learned about generating digital images from their own computer code and painted one final picture with C++.

Minutes before the final image presentations, which doubled as a friendly image competition, UC San Diego senior Nick Echols showed off a “behind the scenes” graphic tied to his CSE 168 final project. Meanwhile, competition judge and 2007 CSE 168 grand prize winner Iman Sadeghi searched for the key to the lecture hall.

Once the keys were located and the laptop projector fired up, the students presented final images revealing how hard-core programming – rather than off-the-shelf software like Photoshop and 3D graphics programs – can be used to generate aesthetically pleasing graphics.

In the grand prize winning image, flames dance within semi-transparent candle holders of different colors.

A smoky haze rises from each translucent candle holder. This candle light generates rings of light called caustics – which can occur when light passes from one medium to another, like from air to water. When sunlight passes through a magnifying lens, for example, the bright spot generated while focusing the lens on some surface is a caustic.

Courtesy by physorg.com