Final #2 - Monocular Depth Cues

This assignment necessitated the visual interpretation of six monocular depth cues, as provided in our text.

Process 1 - Atmospheric Perspective

In this screenshot, I circled the area further away from me in order to show the atmospheric perspective.  This depth cue means that objects further away from us have a great deal less detail and look almost fuzzy.  Whereas objects closer to us offer a more sharp and detailed visual depiction. The circled area is fuzzy and harder to see the lines on the floor than the lines on the floor much closer to me.


Process 2 - Lighting and Shading

This shot offers an example of the perspective that lighting and shading has an effect on.  This cue shows depth as objects that are illuminated have the light hitting them at a certain point and the sides become progressively darker as the distance from the point of impact becomes greater.  The circled area shows the lights hitting a certain part of the tent as the point of impact.  As the tent wraps around the area, the light appears dimmer and gives the illusion that it has depth.



Process 3 - Linear Perspective

In this photo, we see an example of linear perspective.  This perspective shows depth by having parallel lines appear to get closer together until they reach a vanishing point.  The example in this shot is indicated by the parallel lines of the church aisle becoming closer together as the distance from me becomes greater.  Although they do not reach a vanishing point here, it is assumed that they would eventually look connected if the aisle were longer.



Process 4 - Occlusion

The depth cue in this particular example is called occlusion.  This perspective shows depth by placing objects closer to me in front of objects that are further away.  The circled area shows how the tall post closer to me blocks the stage area behind it.  This would then indicate that that stage is further away from me in relation to the post's position in the shot.



Process 5 - Size Differences

This screenshot shows depth through the perspective of size differences.  This is shown by seeing that objects further away from us appear smaller than objects closer in relation to our line of sight.  This picture indicates that the three hoops swinging from the ceiling are gradually further away based on how large the hoop is.  This would indicate that the smallest hoop would have to be the furthest away of the three.



Process 6 - Texture Density

This perspective offers the illusion of depth by creating differences in the texture of the layout in front of you.  The bricks I have circled in this shot are considered a "real-world" texture that, as it looks further away from me, looks more dense and tightly packed. Alternatively, the bricks closer to my feet look larger and less packed together.  This creates depth through the perception of size differences in that the brick may eventually become so densely packed that I would eventually only be able to discern the color, not the lines.

This is a study in monocular depth cues.  It is a final exercise from the Immersive Education course that I am taking at Boston College.  The course is called Discovering Computer Graphics.  For details, visit the Immersive BC portal at http://ImmersiveEducation.org/@/bc