Date of Award

6-2008

Degree Name

MS in Computer Science

Department/Program

Computer Science

Advisor

Zoë Wood

Abstract

Hand drawn ornamentation, such as floral or geometric patterns, is a tedious and time consuming task that requires much skill and training in ornamental design principles and aesthetics. Ornamental drawings both historically and presently play critical roles in all things from art to architecture; however, little work has been done in exploring their algorithmic and interactive generation. The field of computer graphics offers many algorithmic possibilities for assisting an artist in creating two-dimensional ornamental art. When computers handle the repetition and overall structure of ornament, considerable savings in time and money can result. Today, the few existing computer algorithms used to generate 2D ornament have over-generalized and over-simplified the process of ornamentation, resulting in the substitution of limited amounts of generic and static "clip art" for once personalized artistic innovations.

Two possible approaches to computational ornamentation exist: interactive tools give artists instant feedback on their work while non-interactive programs can carry out complex and sometimes lengthy computations to produce mathematically precise ornamental compositions. Due to the importance of keeping an artist in the loop for the production of ornamentation, we present an application designed and implemented utilizing a user-driven global planning strategy, to help guide the generation of two-dimensional ornament. The system allows for the creation of beautiful organic ornamental 2D art which follows a user-defined curve. We present the application, the algorithmic approaches used, and the potential uses of this application.

Share

COinS