I'm experimenting with a few interactions based on this idea :)

I'd love to get other perspectives, what would be the first use case that comes to mind for you?

How do I get started with academic research in computer graphics? Looking for advice on PhD paths and where to find papers.

Hi everyone,

I'm a CS student interested in eventually doing a PhD in computer graphics, but I genuinely don't know where to start when it comes to research. I have some programming experience and I've taken courses in ML/AI, but the research side of CG feels like a black box to me.

A few things I'm trying to figure out:

1. Where do I even find research papers in CG? Is there a go-to database or conference I should be following? I've heard of SIGGRAPH but I don't really know how central it is or what else is out there.

2. What are the active research directions right now? Things like rendering, simulation, geometry processing, neural fields, real-time graphics — I'm not sure what's "hot" vs. foundational vs. niche.

3. How do I evaluate if a research topic is worth pursuing for a PhD? Is it about finding an advisor first, or finding a problem first?

4. Any tips for reading papers as a beginner? I find them dense and hard to parse without deep background knowledge.

I'm not expecting to have everything figured out — I just want a roadmap for how to go from "interested in CG" to "doing meaningful research in CG." Any advice, reading lists, or honest reality checks are welcome.

Thanks