COMPUTER GRAPHICS AND COMPUTER ANIMATION STUDIES AT SERBIAN FACULTIES Ratko Obradović 1 Branislav Popkonstantinović2 Predrag Šiđanin3 Miloš Vujanović4 Zoran Milojević5 Résumé Computer graphics studies are founded before almost fifty years at USA and Western - European Universities. The number of Competent Person in this area is rising every year because of high number of diverse using and jobs. We are interested to make analysis what happens at Serbian Universities with this kind of Studies? Do they exist here, or do we have to organize them. If we wish to do this, first we should prepare proposal for this Studies,so we need to prepare Subjects and contents. Key words:
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Computer Graphics, Computer Animation, Curriculum Reform
PhD. Ratko Obradović, Associate Professor, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Novi Sad, Serbia,
[email protected] 2 PhD. Branislav Popkonstantinović, Associate Professor, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Belgrade, Serbia,
[email protected] 3 PhD. Predrag Šiđanin, Full Professor, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Novi Sad, Serbia,
[email protected] 4 MSc. Miloš Vujanović, Assistant Professor, Acad emy of Arts, Novi Sad, Serbia,
[email protected] 5 PhD. Zoran Milojević, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Novi Sad, Serbia,
[email protected]
1. INTRODUCTION Computer Graphics and Animation at this moment are a part of each products or process and these disciplines are implemented in many different areas. When we wish to make any product or object such a car, plane, train, highway, building, factory etc., the most practical way for analyzing is creating computer 3D models and than applying different technical corrections, or technological changing, aesthetic adapting or systems changing etc. Computer graphics (CG) and Computer Animation (CA) are subjects which are using in different technical disciplines such as Mechanical Engineering, Architecture, Civil Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electronic, Geodesy etc. Assured place CG has in Art, in Medical Science and Pharmacy, Physics, Biology and Chemistry, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Informatics. Large area CG&CA takes in Education, everybody knows CG influence to Motion Pictures, especially from time when 3D pictures were created. CG can use for Games production and with Web Design. Computer Animation is useful for manufacturing simulation with unavailable or not-enough visible parts (underground or underwater installations, geological mapping, anatomic parts etc.), danger simulation (earthquake, overflow, fire) but also for visualization different kind of informations. All that we counted here is giving to CG great social influence, and give us reasons to invest in CG and CA. So, we have an obligation to teach CG new student generations and they are interested in that very much. It is well-known that studies of CG and CA is standard in USA or in Western Europe but we wants to bring this subject to Serbia. 2. PRESENT STATUS ANALIZE At Computer Science studies from prestigious Brown University the students could choose between about one hundred subjects. Different themes included in these subjects give us confirmation that CG & CA is science giving the students many opportunities [1]. We are excelent informed about situation at European Universities thanks to professor Hellmuth Stachel from Vienna University of Technology [2]. At web page of TU Vienna we could read: “Geometric Modeling and Industrial Geometry is a research unit at the Institute of Discrete Mathematics and Geometry, Vienna University of
Technology. We are performing application oriented fundamental research and industrial research closely connected to geometry. ” Today, in Serbia existing the State Universities and private Universities. These private Universities existing about ten years, usually these are studies for social sciences, i.e. low or management. But, in last couple years are founded some Faculty from technical profiles. On web page from Faculty of Information Technology (FIT) from Belgrade, Interactive Media Design, is noted: “Nowadays design gets more and more into interactive: computer games, web design, software interface design. This kind of design requires special software tools and multidiscipline knowledge: design and programming. FIT undergraduate program in Interactive Media Design was immediately recognized: the German company Games & More (G&ME) contracts 12 students in scholarship, guaranteeing jobs after their studies as well.” [3] Faculty of Technical Sciences from Novi Sad this year celebrating a fifty birthday, on Faculty site we could read: “The Faculty of Technical Sciences was founded on 18th May 1960 as the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Novi Sad and was originally a part of the University of Belgrade. When the University of Novi Sad is founded on 28th June 1960, the Faculty, together with six other faculties founded by that time on the territory of Vojvodina, becomes its constituent part.” Faculty of Technical Science consist of Departments which create different studies. Some of them already have subjects that treated CG, for example at Department for Computing and Automatics there are three subjects: Man - Computer Interaction, Multimedia, Computer Graphics. Than, at Department for Graphic Engineering and Design the are: Design of spatial forms, 3D modeling, and Computer Graphics. At Department for Architecture there are several subjects: Interpretation and Representation of Architectural and Urban Planning, Geometry and Visualization of Free Forms, Representation of Architectural and Urban Planning Part etc. [4]. We can see that there are Subjects at Departments, teaching different parts of CG and CA. But, there are no Studies which can merge all of counted subjects and professors to a new kind Studies for CG & CA.
3. THE NEW STUDIES PROPOSAL After couple months for analyzing situation and thanks to our professors team involving in this project, we prepared a two-years master studies from Computer Graphics and Computer Animation with following subjects: No
Subject
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Introduction to Computer Graphics
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About line drawing
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Geometry and Visualization of 3D form
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Multimedia
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Drawing for animation and Visual Effects
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3d modeling
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Interdisciplinary Scientific Visualization
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Mathematics for Computer Graphics
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Computer Graphics
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Computer Animation and another medias
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Character animation
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Computer Animation
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Visual Communication Aesthetics
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Computer Animation Applying
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Interactive Computer Graphics
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Pictures processing
Professors, worked in organizing of this CG and CA Studies actually are employed at different Faculties:
Academy of Arts Architecture and Urban Planning Mechanical Engineering Compute Science and Automation Mathematics
This concept we presented to Faculty of Technical Science authorities with intention to found a master Studies, forth and fifth years, in summary there are four semesters. This is not final proposal, some corrections are possible. Our team is created from professors with common denominator – interest in same / similar science – Computer Graphics, Theory and Interpretation of Geometrical space, and Computer Animation. The Curriculum from Computer Graphics and Animation master Studies we wrote. All necessary details about contens of subjects we created too. In our opinion the ideal students number are about twenty. These studies can apply every student with Bachelor diploma, these are students from technical disciplines, and from Faculty of Natural Sciences – Mathematics or Informatics, and also students from Academy of Arts. We planed an entrance test for choice appropriate, talented and the best candidates. We also intend to create Curriculum for basic studies (first, second and third year) and in future time we will do this.
4. CONCLUSION At this moment, approximately speaking, the Serbian Faculties in Computer Graphics field, are late about ten years in compare with leading countries, and if we wait for next five years, and do nothing, we will be late for hundred years. We are in viewpoint that we in Serbia have enough scientists interested to find solution for this situation. Also, our students are interested in such a modern and interesting scientific field. The great problem at our Faculties is procedure which we should pass to create a new kind Studies. This is very complicated procedure. We have opinion that procedure should be easier and should not take more than couple months, today it takes more than a year. We need more new kind studies but we also should take care about students number, and it can be in some harmony with needs of our society. In this case we wish to prepare Studies for twenty or max thirty students. This number is interested from two reasons, first that is a group which give us a possibility for intensive work with them, and second, with this number we avoid a possibility to create too much graduated students with too much variance in their quality. For example, if we have a group with a hundred students, than just about twenty best students will have good quality for real work. We are sure that our proposal is very good, compatible with this moment and we hope that as soon as possible we will have a green light for Computer Graphics and Animation Studies. 5. LITERATURE 1. Brown University, USA, Computer Science http://www.cs.brown.edu/courses/ 2. Vienna University of Technology, Austria http://www.geometrie.tuwien.ac.at/geom/fg4/ 3. Faculty of Information Technology (FIT), Interactive Media Design, Belgrade, Serbia http://www.fit.edu.rs/en/home/index.dot 4. Faculty of Technical Sciences, Novi Sad, Serbia http://www.ftn.uns.ac.rs/english/
