The word “graphics” comes from the Greek word “graphikos.” Graphics are typically some kind of presentation that is visual in nature. Graphics can be displayed on a wall or computer screen or drawn on a canvas or plain paper. Photographs, line drawings, graphs, diagrams, designs of a geometric nature, maps, images, and architectural or engineering drawings are examples of graphics. When graphics are created, selected, arranged and formatted for some kind of presentation such as a brochure, flyer or poster, then the element of graphic design is introduced.
Computer graphics can be raster graphics or vector graphics. With raster graphics, each picture element or pixel of the graphic is individually defined whereas vector graphics use mathematical computations to draw the shapes that are seen by the viewer. The files of graphics made by vectors are typically smaller than those using the raster method although complex calculations in the presentation of a graphic can result in large vector graphic files as well.
The first computer display that was able to produce simple pictures was part of the Whirlwind I computer at MIT in 1950. It was not until the mid-1960s that larger computer graphics programs designed for research were implemented at organizations like MIT, Bell Labs, General Motors and the Lockheed Corporation. When the personal computer was introduced in the late 1970s and became more powerful, it too was able to display simple as well as more complex graphic images. The arrival of computers like the Macintosh with its enhanced graphic capabilities turned the personal computer into a more serious tool for graphic design. The 1980s saw the introduction of more powerful computers that were able to display three dimensional graphics which led to the creation of short fully computer-generated films. Longer commercial films became available with the release of Toy Story in 1995.
Today computer graphics are universally used in the industry and are an important part of computer technology.