Final #2 - Monocular Depth Cues

Tartarus

This is an example of occlusion, a monocular depth cue.  Pictured here, the skull appears closest to us, as it blocks a piece of the rock.  Behind the rock, a small sputter of a fountain can be seen.  Behind both the rock and the fountain, a crate can be seen.  Occlusion creates the feeling of depth by blocking objects behind them.  So, because the skull is closer, it will cover the section of rock, obscuring our view.

bruceopolis

This is an example of size difference, another monocular depth cue.  Pictured here, each pillar to this deck is the same size.  However, because these objects are technically further from one another, the size of each pillar changes as it gets farther away.  Size difference is just that, an object that is far away will appear smaller the further it is.  It is true in the real world; this use of perspective allows a person to perceive a three dimensional picture on a 2d plane.

Skyfall

This is an example of lighting and shading, a monocular depth cue.  Here we see that the objects closest to the light source are very bright, while the indentation in that section shows up very dark.  On it's side there are varying shades of darkness to define a separation of sides, that this pillar is not on a 2d plane.  Lighting and shading works in that, the section of an object closest to the light source appears very bright, and the shading defines the shape of the object.  As in this pillar example, you can see the pillar with an indentation on it, even though it is actually two dimensional.

Near - Dabney

Far - Dabney

Here I used two images to demonstrate texture density, a monocular depth cue. The roof of the building appears very close in the top image, and the tile texture of the roof is very apparent and defined.  Moving further away, this pattern begins to lose some of its defined nature and becomes less apparent as more repeating patterns are visible at once.  So, with texture density, an object must have defined, repeated textures to work well.  When up close, the patterns appear larger, as in this tile example, and grow smaller and less defined as you move further from the object, as from the far tile example.

My Own Build

This is an example of linear perspective, a monocular depth cue.  As you can see in this image, I created two parallel lines of blocks that extend backwards.  As they appear to get further away, it appears they grow closer together.  However, this is a trick of the eyes that is linear perspective.  In a drawing class, to draw images that look three dimensional, the artist begins with setting a horizon line and a vanishing point.  From the vanishing point he or she draws straight lines to outline the shape of the object.  This idea is similar, producing the effect of depth necessary to bring this 2d picture a three dimensional scope.

My own Build

Finally, this is an example of atmospheric perspective, a monocular depth cue.  The safe at the forefront has a very defined shape and color.  The soccer ball in the distance appears to be a blurry dot.  Finally in the rear, a gigantic bookshelf appears barely visible above the horizon.  Creating the idea that the light reflected from each object is dispersed due to atmosphere creates a 3d plane.  Atmospheric perspective works in just that way in the real world.  There, the light reflected from an object becomes dispersed, making the object blurry or hard to see.  Furthermore, the object begins to lose some of its vibrant texture.  Just as in this picture, the safe is clearly black and has a well defined shape.  The soccer ball, while not very blurry, shows extreme distance from the safe.  Finally the giant bookshelf far off in the distance has lost some of its vibrant color, and appears blurrier.

EACH OF THESE IMAGES WERE PROCURED FROM CLOUDPARTY.  You can visit cloudparty for yourself at www.cloudparty.com.  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 this link!