Dark Bit Factory & Gravity

GENERAL => Challenges & Competitions => Topic started by: Shockwave on June 25, 2011

Title: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on June 25, 2011
IMAGE PROCESSING 2011

:sunny: - Welcome to the Image Processing Challenge -   :sunny:


This time the challenge is to create something demo-ish and enhance it with image processing, so blow the dust of your keyboard and crack open your favourite IDE!

This is another totally open theme and it's something that should be good for all programing languages and levels of ability!  There are dozens and dozens, if not thousands of different techniques that you can use to alter an image to make it look cool when you render it, so there's bound to be at least one that fits your particular style!  :)

To participate in this challenge, you need to choose one or more image processing effects and create an effect that is  enhanced by them!  In reality most things look better with image processing and to name a few of the effects that are out there, you could try;

Motion Blurr, Edge Detection,Blurr, Depth Of Field, Photo-Negative, Soft Focus, Lighting effects, Supersampling, Fisheye Lense - You only need to look through the list of photoshop filters for inspiration!


The challenge of course is to choose some effects and decide what type of imagary would suit them the best, then code your effect and make it look awesome.

You are of course at liberty to invent your own unique render effects, it's wide open.

In your entry though - please provide a brief description of what effects you've used and how they modify the original demo.


Here are a few examples of image processing effects in action:

Motion Blur + Ambient Occlusion:
"Magnus" by Youth Uprising;
[youtube]M7HpUUuUslE[/youtube]


Edge Detection using Sobel Filter:
[youtube]-t7GX07sq7U[/youtube]


Depth of Field applied to a 3D fractal:
[youtube]GON_tie5MVc[/youtube]

Supersampling:
[youtube]BFmdpbNykZo[/youtube]


Negative visual feedback and colour filters;
[youtube]g9YiTFYxf14[/youtube]

Feel free to take a 2D or 3D approach to this challenge and include as many image processing tricks as you like (as long as there's at least one!).



:rockon: Here are the rules. :rockon:

       

:carrot: Here are the prizes! :carrot:



Good Luck!
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Pixel_Outlaw on June 25, 2011

This sounds pretty interesting.
Does the effect need to modify a changing image buffer in real time or can it also be a simple one pass transformation of a static image?
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on June 25, 2011
Either one would be fine, I suspect that something moving would get you more votes though!
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Pixel_Outlaw on June 25, 2011

I think you're right.
I'm just considering what libraries allow for modification to a real time image buffer.

People using Blitzmax might have to do a bit of hackery or consider Zawran's image processing add-on. Then again there are probably some very jaw dropping single pass options too providing the effect is unique enough and maybe demonstrated a few different ways with different images. Good idea for this one, plenty of room for innovation.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: SERGIO_ManOwaR_ on June 25, 2011
Hi! this is precisely what im working in.. but just for Yabasic! :$
So i guess i can't entry. Anyway it would be interesting to see what you can do, I'll be following.
Good luck everybody! :D
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on June 25, 2011
Quote from: SERGIO_ManOwaR_ on June 25, 2011
Hi! this is precisely what im working in.. but just for Yabasic! :$
So i guess i can't entry.

PS2 yabasic is restrictive because there are a lot of things that it can't do "out of the box".

It can't draw bitmaps
It can't play sounds
All you can draw are triangles, lines, quads, dots, text and Gtriangles..

You can draw things though, and remember that you have the emulator so you are only restricted by the PC's speed - there's absolutely no reason that PS2 Yabasic cannot do a demo effect and then distort it somehow :)

Anyway, even if you don't enter this one Sergio, I hope you enjoy watching the entries!  They are usually very diverse and quite wonderful!
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: rain_storm on June 26, 2011
A ps2yabasic entry would be awesome! Good luck to everyone that enters.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Kirl on June 26, 2011
This is a tough one, good thing I was recently exploring bitmap editing! A quick late night test hack is running very slowly though, just looping through all pix and doing some basic manipulation...
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: benny! on June 26, 2011
Really cool theme again."Count me in.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Rbz on June 26, 2011
Interesting challenge, alot of things to do on this field.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Xetick on June 26, 2011
If you need some more ideas or sample code you can check out the postprocessing scenes in Plane9 (http://www.plane9.com/scenes/tags/postprocessing). Start the editor and select the scene you want. Most of them just contain one shader that does the postprocessing. Converting it the language of choice shouldn't be too hard. Just remember to add your own twist to the effect.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on June 26, 2011
Plane 9 is full of brilliant effects :)

I love those ones - the bathroom window effect is very cool (as is old movie!)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on June 26, 2011
Anyway.. I have decided on what I am going to make.. I've never done it before and it's going to be done in software so it will be a nice test of whether I can learn something new :)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: combatking0 on June 27, 2011
I hope everyone has a working webcam :D

Still, I can put in an option to use a pre-imported image if some members don't have a webcam.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: padman on June 27, 2011
I know one member already who hasn't got a webcam: Me.  ;)

[Edit] Argh, Monday, I misspelled "one".  ::)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: benny! on June 27, 2011
Quote from: combatking0 on June 27, 2011
I hope everyone has a working webcam :D

Still, I can put in an option to use a pre-imported image if some members don't have a webcam.

lol ... I was also thinking about using a webcam as an input source.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Kirl on June 27, 2011
Quote from: combatking0 on June 27, 2011
I hope everyone has a working webcam :D
Quote from: benny! on June 27, 2011
lol ... I was also thinking about using a webcam as an input source.

Haha, me too! Great minds think alike I guess.
Now I think I'll try something else, meaby...  :-\
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: las on June 27, 2011
Hmmm great an "everything is allowed" challenge ;)
Can I enter with a Rendermonkey project file? :P
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: combatking0 on June 27, 2011
The ideas are simmering nicely :stirrer:

It will be great to see what everyone comes up with, weather the images are rendered, imported or live. There's always a huge variety of style, which is what makes these competitions great.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on June 27, 2011
Quote from: las on June 27, 2011
Hmmm great an "everything is allowed" challenge ;)
Can I enter with a Rendermonkey project file? :P

You probably could but I don't think you'd get too many votes :)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: las on June 28, 2011
Shockwave: Why shouldn't it get that many votes?
What's the difference? Actually entering with a Rendermonkey project file is worth 1000 times more than with a binary.
Everybody can understand exactly what you are doing and have a look at your code.
I mean, I can of course plug in all the shaders into some nice tiny framework (which I have.) - but then it would be only of the "directly visible value" (and I wont release the source in that case.)

Something I am currently working on using Rendermonkey (Blur, Glow, FXAA3, AO, SSS, Silhouettes, ... ):
http://research.mercury-labs.org/fxaa3_3.png (http://research.mercury-labs.org/fxaa3_3.png)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on June 28, 2011
Unfortunately I don't know a great deal about the various shader development tools out there.

My understanding of rendermonkey is that it contains a lot of pre-programmed and configurable features to make development of shaders easy.  Things like Glass, texture generation, fur etc.  It also has the facility to enter your own code I believe.

Using the pre-programmed features would be classed by the rules as using an external library of some sort.  Directly entering code into render monkey, I would say is coding. 

Designing a shader with a GUI and exporting it into your code is no different to using another media package to create music / gfx but if you've used the ready made features of render-monkey then you haven't really coded it, but the point of demos are to look cool / sound cool / be technically great or hopefully all of that.

That's just my uneducated understanding of Rendermonkey - if I am wrong I will be corrected. :)

I dont think that there's anything in the rules to stop rendermonkey projects being submitted, indeed it may well have enough value to merit a challenge of it's own in the future and prove useful in getting people interested in shader coding.

Anyway Las, if you want to enter something, please do - I've enjoyed the things you release into the scene and if people like what you've done then they'll vote.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: hellfire on June 28, 2011
Quote from: Shochwave
if you've used the ready made features of render-monkey then you haven't really coded it
Well, I don't think Las is planing to submit a preset... ;)

Quote from: las on June 28, 2011
Why shouldn't it get that many votes?
Personally I prefer it when things are small and run straight out of the box.
Rendermonkey is an additional ~100mb download - only to display shaders which are probably just a few kilobytes.
It's also more interessting to watch if you play a bit of music and do a little sync.
On the other hand it's fully interactive, has a nice gui and a lot of educational value.
I'd say go for it...
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: TinDragon on June 28, 2011
I expect there's a fair few of us would love to see the rendermonkey file, there's also alot who probably would have no idea how to use it since they havent ever touched shaders and/or rendermonkey. I would say that it would be a good thing if you could provide either a working exe using a framework or perhaps a video of the effect in addition to the rendermonkey file to maximise your vote count.

However if your more interest in sharing it for tutorial/educational value and are not worried about your position within the compo then just enter what you feel like, either way I am sure it will be appreciated :)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: benny! on June 28, 2011
Quote from: TinDragon on June 28, 2011
....either way I am sure it will be appreciated :)

Definately!
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Xetick on June 28, 2011
If it's cool enough it would definitely get my vote, rendermonkey or not. But a video would be very much appreciated so I wouldn't have to install rendermonkey unless the video peaked my interest.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: las on June 28, 2011
Quote
but if you've used the ready made features of render-monkey then you haven't really coded it
That's a bit of an insult to me ;)
Basically rendermonkey is a shader CODE editor and I am pretty sure I am not ripping rendermonkey samples ;)

Anyways - If I enter something you will get a 32 bit crinkler compressed windows binary rendering at HD720 + a nice kkapture compressed with Xvid.

And of course - the binary wont contain any hardware or error checking/handling - so either you run it on proper hardware/software or it will most probably just crash.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on June 28, 2011
Quote from: las on June 28, 2011
Quote
but if you've used the ready made features of render-monkey then you haven't really coded it
That's a bit of an insult to me ;)

My apologies! 
I know quite well how cool your productions are, I should have worded that better - no offence meant at all.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Optimus on June 30, 2011
Wow, interesting compo again. Have already thought of few ideas, hope to get in the mood and do something.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: benny! on June 30, 2011
Quote from: Optimus on June 30, 2011
Wow, interesting compo again. Have already thought of few ideas, hope to get in the mood and do something.

Yeah, Optimus is back!
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on June 30, 2011
About time too :)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: las on July 01, 2011
Quote
Procedural graphics entries are allowed as long as it is one single file <16kb no animations allowed, [...]
Actually I don't 100% understand that rule.
From my understanding this says: If I generate my graphics content procedurally in any way - I may only submit a 16kb file generating a single picture.

Do you mean by that rule:
"In case you want to commit a static picture - it has to be procedurally generated and may not contain any kind of animation."?
Quote
Please write something new for the challenge, no previously released stuff.
In case I released static work in progress screenshot of some binary *cough* is that already "previously released stuff"?
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on July 01, 2011
Hi Las,

The procedural graphics is intended for people who want to create a static picture using code so your understanding is correct.

Releasing a work in progress shot of anything would not prevent you from entering it, unless you'd released it as a finished production somewhere before.

Hope that helps.






Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: combatking0 on July 08, 2011
Mine is almost finished, but everyone else entries will blow mine out of the water.

I have learned a lot though about my programming language of choice due to the subject matter, which is one of the many fun things about these competitions.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on July 09, 2011
Did you use flash this time or something else? :)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: combatking0 on July 09, 2011
Flash 8 again - I know I said I'd upgrade, but I haven't learned enough about Flash Develop to use it as well as Flash 8.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Kirl on July 09, 2011
Same here CK0, I tried later Flash versions but they're all bloated with the usual security crap (which clearly doesn't do anything but annoy paying customers). I tried Flash develop once, but didn't really push through. So I'm still going strong with Flash8 and as long as Adobe doesn't actually improve their software, I'll stick to it. I do still intend to look into Flash develop though...

I haven't started on my compo entry yet, still juggling some ideas and really busy with other projects.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: combatking0 on July 10, 2011
I can't wait to see what you do with Flash 8 - it will be interesting to see how differently it can be used.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on July 13, 2011
Who's going to post thier entry first then ? :)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: combatking0 on July 14, 2011
I just need a few more hours of development time - one of my filters has stopped working, and I still have a few ideas left to implement.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: combatking0 on July 21, 2011
Just to make it clear - I have no chance of winning, but it's the coding that's fun, as is seeing the other entries. I think I have learned a few new tricks too.

All I need is another half hour of development time, and it should be polished and presentable.

For those of you without a webcam, it will be possible to import an image from your file system.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on July 21, 2011
Quote from: combatking0 on July 21, 2011
For those of you without a webcam, it will be possible to import an image from your file system.

Good job in my case - seeing my own face is not what I want to do :)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on July 26, 2011
Gentle reminder:

Only a few days left!

:)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: benny! on July 29, 2011
Quote from: Shockwave on July 26, 2011
Gentle reminder:

Only a few days left!

:)

Damn it .... I might not be able to enter this time. Some personal issues ... sorry. Really looking forward to see more entries though. The ones
already released really rocked already!
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on July 29, 2011
Well, there's just one day to go mate.  I hope to see a couple of last minute entries otherwise every entry is going to get a trophy by default!
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Kirl on July 29, 2011
I'm finishing up my entry. my 1st attempt was pretty boring, so I restarted two days ago... Happy I did. :)
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on July 30, 2011
It's great that we have some last day entries :)

Thank you very much for supporting the challenge!
I'll put the voting up tomorrow.

There are a few entries that have been posted without screen shots, I will take screen shots for those ones if you want, but if you can, I'd really appreciate it if you'd upload a pic of your entry, that way you'll get the shot you want sisplayed in the voting list.

Cheers!
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Raizor on July 31, 2011
Oops, sorry. Totally forgot screenshots. Will do that now.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: SERGIO_ManOwaR_ on August 03, 2011
Quote from: Shockwave on June 25, 2011
Quote from: SERGIO_ManOwaR_ on June 25, 2011
Hi! this is precisely what im working in.. but just for Yabasic! :$
So i guess i can't entry.

PS2 yabasic is restrictive because there are a lot of things that it can't do "out of the box".

It can't draw bitmaps
It can't play sounds
All you can draw are triangles, lines, quads, dots, text and Gtriangles..

You can draw things though, and remember that you have the emulator so you are only restricted by the PC's speed - there's absolutely no reason that PS2 Yabasic cannot do a demo effect and then distort it somehow :)

Anyway, even if you don't enter this one Sergio, I hope you enjoy watching the entries!  They are usually very diverse and quite wonderful!


Yes, very restrictive, thats what im using jim's emulator for bitmaps processing, It is easy cos' you can make a little script in javascript to convert a picture into raw data RGB for yabasic, and then copy/paste in a text document. All you have to do then is code the yabasic lines to understand those data lines. The result: Im watching in Yabasic real-color pictures and . This can not be done in ps2yabasic cos' the only way to do it is writing the color info for each pixel one by one, which means 3 numbers (R,G,B) for each pixel and it will take a life to do it. Thats why ps2yabasic is sooo frustrating. Thanks for your comment , sorry if this one is out of place or off-topic, i also have to say that im watching the contest's entrys and enjoing of it before voting. cheers
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: combatking0 on August 03, 2011
I see what you mean - there would be a lot of text data to import, but it would be worth it to see it in action.

Flash isn't much faster, but I use that for most things.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: Shockwave on August 03, 2011
Since you could have processed a real time effect and not necessarily only a photograph, this theme would have not only been possible but very attainable in Yabasic.

After all it's possible to store an array of pixels, even if you'd used blocky-ish ones..

Anyway, I hope you have a go next time because it will be cool to see some Yabasic demos again.
Title: Re: IMAGE PROCESSING CHALLENGE 2011
Post by: LittleWhite on September 15, 2011
Sorry to have missed this challenge :s