Computer graphics and computational calligraphy

我们都熟悉计算机用来存储、操作和呈现文本的方式。我们认为好的字体是理所当然的：今天，在几分钟内，我们可以格式化和打印一份文件，其质量超过了在印刷机上需要多年工作的质量。在这个过程中，我们失去了一些手印的艺术性，但我们接受了这种权衡，因为有效的沟通带来了巨大的好处。字体设计关注的是高度易读和一致的字母。好的字体不引人注目，不加修饰几乎看不见；我们应该能够“看透”字母，直接了解其含义。然而，并不是所有的文本都需要打字。历史上和现代有许多文本被变形、扭曲和彻底解构的例子。书法家把文字片段变成像任何绘画一样美丽的铭文。在这种字体中，平衡和构图等艺术目标占主导地位；一致性就不那么重要了，甚至易读性也可能被抛弃。在这个项目中，我将使用计算机图形学的技术来探索计算机的书法能力。我感兴趣的是研究三种具体的书法风格：“具象书法”，其中题词已经变形成可识别的形状；涂鸦标签和壁画；和双义图，即倒过来看一样的短题字。我将创建一些工具，使计算机用户、平面设计专业人员和艺术家能够像使用字体一样使用书法进行表达。

We are all familiar with the ways that the computer can be used to store, manipulate, and render text.  We take good type for granted: today, in a few minutes, we can format and print a document that surpasses in quality what would have required years of work at a printing press.  In the process we lose something of the artistry of hand printing, but we accept the trade-off because of the great benefits of efficient communication.Typography is concerned with letters that are highly legible and consistent.  Good type is unobtrusive, almost invisible unless attended to; we should be able to "see through" the letters directly to the meaning.However, not all text needs to be type.  There are many historical and modern examples of text that has been deformed, distorted, and downright deconstructed for the purposes of art.  Calligraphers turn fragments of text into inscriptions as beautiful as any painting.  With this kind of lettering, artistic goals such as balance and composition prevail; consistency is much less important, and even legibility may be forsaken.In this project, I will use techniques from computer graphics to explore the calligraphic capabilities of the computer. I am interested in studying three specific styles of calligraphy:  "representational calligraphy", in which an inscription has been deformed into a recognizable shape; graffiti tags and murals; and Ambigrams, short inscriptions that look the same when turned upside-down.I will create tools that give computer users, graphic design professionals, and artists the same expressive power with calligraphy that they currently enjoy with type.