A Comprehensive Review of Exactly How Computer Graphics Work
How computer graphics work, at least as far as it is relevant to graphics displays, online graphics, clip art and other Internet and computer graphics, goes back to the original color television technology. However, to fully understand web colors and web graphics, it is necessary to have a very basic understanding of exactly how the colors are interpreted by machines. Machine languages all eventually boil down to a “least-common-denominator” that is known as the binary code – binary for short.
Binary is a series of 0s and 1s in a series of eight digits. Each binary digit is a single-pole-switch much the same as a very simple light switch. It can be either “0” which is the “off” position or “1” which is the “on” position. These binary digits are then ordered into binary code in a series of eight digits. Thus, you may have something that looks like 00101101. This is eight bits of data. These eight bits of data become known as one byte. One keystroke on your computer would be an input of one byte of information. This binary code is then converted into hexadecimal or dec color codes for computer graphic video displays.
Colors and Graphics in Numbers
When it comes to web colors and more specifically, to the implementation of web graphics, these numbers have a slightly different implication. Computer Graphics are displayed on the screen by electronic charges that are sent to individual pixels. A pixel is one dot on your computer screen, on your computer printout or on your television even. If you have a screen resolution of 800x600 pixels, you have 800 pixels or dots wide by 600 pixels or dots in height. If you have a screen resolution of 1024x768, you have 1024 dots wide by 768 dots high.
Going Dotty with Pixels
The numbers of pixels on a computer monitor are generally much larger than the number of pixels or dots on a television screen allowing the computer graphics to be much more pronounced than those on the average television screens. In fact, the recent “advances” in television technology that lead to the introduction of high definition television broadcasts is nothing more than the original SVGA computer technology that has been readily available for computer users since the early 1990's. The electronic charges that are sent to the computer monitor and ultimately, to every individual pixel are measured in either hexadecimal or binary formats and translated by the display into the proper color.
3 Colors Create a Graphic Rainbow
The computer graphics are also measured in the old original color television scales known as RGB. RGB stands for red, green and blue. The RGB colors are measured in the levels of red, green and blue when combined to make individual colors. Each of the three colors is proportioned out in exact measurements in order to combine and form the exact color that needs to be reproduced. Most of the printers available on the market revert to RGB color standards when printing out graphics. This can be evidenced by the colors on the individual printer ink cartridges.
Putting It in Black and White
In these computer graphic display configurations, black is the complete absence of any color at all while white is the complete spectrum of colors all put together. Thus, in hex, black would be represented as 00000000 indicating that no color at all should appear and the pixel in the computer graphic display should remain black. In RGB the same color … or lack of color would be represented as 0,0,0 again, indicating a complete lack of color.
White, as the complete opposite of black will be properly communicated to the computer graphics display as a complete inclusion of all of the available colors. In your hexadecimal or decimal scale colors, the color white will be represented as FFFFFFFF. In the RGB color graphics scale, the white will be represented as 255,255,255. Here, the computer graphics printouts will vary some from the actual electronic representation of the colors. If the graphics from the computer were to be sent to the printer using the maximum amount of ink from each individual color, the result would not be white. However, in the interest of electronics and computer graphics displays, this is the standard measurement for the color white.
Just 32 Bits Make A Myriad Colors
If you have ever looked at the graphics display settings on your computer monitor, you may notice that it begins at 256 colors. In fact, many computer graphics for games, online applications and other types of computer art, begin at the 256 color range. The 256 colors were designed originally for the older 8-bit computer technology. With the advancement in computer graphics and computer technology, advancements were rapidly made from the original eight bit technology. With the advent of the GUI or graphical user interface commonly found in the old Windows version 3.1, OS2 and other early operating systems, technology advanced to the 16 bit stage. These days, most computers run at least 32 bit technology and sometimes 64 bit technology that allows for literally millions of colors on the computer graphics display.
With the increased and enhanced computer resolutions available on most computer monitors these days, computer graphics are hard-pressed to keep up with the pace of technological advancements. However, the resulting improvements in computer graphics does allow for far more lifelike and stunning graphic displays in all different manners of art – from your simplest of baby footprint graphics to dazzling cinematographic conjurings. Computer graphics have come a long way from the simple, flat two dimensional images of old.
Virtual Worlds Soon a Modern Reality
In the late nineteen-nineties, vectored graphics became more and more common with the available artwork online. You may have seen these images in clip art files or in open source markets for computer graphics. These days though, those computer graphics are being animated and even brought to life in many areas. The future of computer graphics looks more than just bright and the possibilities are unbound by anything except your imagination.
For further in depth information, we suggest you research the following:
Stanford University Computer Graphics Info
Computer Graphics, Wikipedia
About The Author
Julian Pollock is the editor of Baby Footprint Graphic through which he encourages practical family activities. You can find simple steps to compose your own baby footprint poem - with tips on editing baby images and clip art to create genuine family mementos.
