Editing Graphics (section)

=== Computer graphics ===
{{Main|Computer graphics}}
There are two types of computer graphics: [[raster graphics]], where each pixel is separately defined (as in a digital photograph), and [[vector graphics]], where mathematical formulas are used to draw lines and shapes, which are then interpreted at the viewer's end to produce the graphic. Using vectors results in infinitely sharp graphics and often smaller [[Computer file|files]], but, when complex, like vectors take time to render and may have larger file sizes than a raster equivalent.
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Crysis MotionBlur.jpg|thumb|left|A screenshot from the 2007 video game ''[[Crysis]]'' displaying extremely photo-realistic real-time computer graphics]] -->

In 1950, the first computer-driven display was attached to MIT's [[Whirlwind (computer)|Whirlwind I]] computer to generate simple pictures. This was followed by [[MIT]]'s [[TX-0]] and [[TX-2]], [[interactive computing]] which increased interest in [[computer graphics]] during the late 1950s. In 1962, [[Ivan Sutherland]] invented [[Sketchpad]], an innovative program that influenced alternative forms of interaction with computers.

In the mid-1960s, large computer graphics research projects were begun at [[MIT]], [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]], [[Bell Labs]], and [[Lockheed Corporation]]. [[Douglas T. Ross]] of [[MIT]] developed an advanced compiler language for graphics programming. [[Steven Anson Coons|S.A.Coons]], also at MIT, and J. C. Ferguson at [[Boeing]], began work in sculptured surfaces. [[General Motors Corporation|GM]] developed their [[DAC-1]] system, and other companies, such as [[Douglas Aircraft Company|Douglas]], [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]], and [[McDonnell Aircraft|McDonnell]], also made significant developments. In 1968, [[Ray tracing (graphics)|ray tracing]] was first described by Arthur Appel of the IBM Research Center, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.<ref>{{cite book|doi=10.1145/1468075.1468082|chapter=Some techniques for shading machine renderings of solids|title=Proceedings of the April 30--May 2, 1968, spring joint computer conference on - AFIPS '68 (Spring)|year=1968|last1=Appel|first1=Arthur|page=37|s2cid=207171023}}</ref>

During the late 1970s, [[home computer]]s became more powerful, capable of drawing both basic and complex shapes and designs. In the 1980s, artists and graphic designers began to see the personal computer as a serious design tool, one that could save time and draw more accurately than other methods.

[[3D computer graphics]] began being used in video games in the 1970s with ''[[Spasim]]'' for the [[PLATO (computer system)|PLATO]] system in 1974 and ''[[FS1 Flight Simulator]]'' in 1979. [[Atari, Inc.]]'s ''[[Battlezone (1980 video game)|Battlezone]]'' (1980) exposed 3D graphics to a wide audience. Other wireframe and flat-shaded 3D games appeared throughout the 1980s. ''[[Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss]]'' (1992) was one of the first major video games with texture-mapped polygons.

Computer systems dating from the 1980s and onwards often use a [[graphical user interface]] (GUI) to present data and information with symbols, icons, and pictures, rather than text. [[3D computer graphics]] and creation tools became more accessible to video game and film developers in the late 1980s with [[Silicon Graphics|SGI]] computers, which were later used to create some of the first fully computer-generated [[short film]]s at [[Pixar]].

[[3D graphics]] became more popular in the 1990s in video games, [[multimedia]], and [[animation]]. In 1995, ''[[Toy Story]]'', the first full-length computer-generated animation film, was released in cinemas. Since then, computer graphics have become more accurate and detailed, due to more advanced computers and better [[3D modeling]] software applications, such as [[Maya (software)|Maya]], [[3D Studio Max]], and [[Cinema 4D]]. Consumer-level 3D graphics acceleration hardware became common in [[IBM PC compatible]]s near the end of the decade.
<!-- Info on the development of hand painting and drawing through history might be good here -->

Another use of computer graphics is [[screensaver]]s, originally intended to prevent the layout of much-used [[Graphical user interface|GUIs]] from 'burning into' the computer screen. They have since evolved into true pieces of art, their practical purpose obsolete; modern screens are not susceptible to such artifacts.