Course Website: https://viterbi-web.usc.edu/~jbarbic/cs520-s25/
Semester: Spring 2025
Professor: Jernej Barbič
Final grade: 106.8/100 (ranked 1 out of 62)
Personal comments: This is a hardcore course that covers most of the fundamental concepts in computer graphics. It is challenging, and some topics can be difficult to grasp at first. However, it is quite manageable to earn an A if you stay on top of the assignments and take advantage of the extra credit opportunities. The professor and TA are very supportive. I strongly recommend attending office hours regularly, even if you do not have specific questions about the coursework. Discussing career advice or industry experience can be just as valuable, and you will often gain insights beyond the class material.
| Component | Weight | Notes | My score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1 | 21% | Maximum 25% extra credit | 125% |
| Assignment 2 | 21% | Maximum 20% extra credit | 115% |
| Assignment 3 | 21% | Maximum 25% extra credit | 125% |
| Final Exam | 37% | 81.5% |
These course notes are written in LaTeX. The source files can be found in the notes directory, and the compiled PDF is available here.
The course materials include lecture slides available on the course website. Additionally, there are two supplementary slides created by our teaching assistant, which can be accessed here.
While no textbook is mandatory for this course, prof recommend Computer Animation, Second Edition: Algorithms and Techniques by Rick Parent.
The assignments are the same each semester, so you can download the source code from previous semesters and start early. Aim to get full marks for extra credit, which will help you achieve a high score even if the final exam is challenging. Make sure to understand the concepts and experiment with them. Try implementing additional features in your program—each small component can earn around 2 extra points.
You can find my implementation here: [A1] [A2] [A3]
The examination duration is 1 hour and 50 minutes. Students are permitted to bring one double-sided reference sheet. No questions for clarification will be allowed during the exam. The exam consists of 20-25 true/false questions and a total of 30-35 questions overall.
The questions in the final exam vary each semester. Most are conceptual, with a few difficult questions designed to identify top-performing students for research purposes.
