Computer graphics and computational calligraphy

我们都熟悉计算机可以用来存储、处理和呈现文本的方式。我们认为好的字体是理所当然的：今天，在几分钟内，我们就可以格式化和打印一份质量超过印刷机多年工作所需的文件。在这个过程中，我们失去了一些手工打印的艺术性，但我们接受了这种权衡，因为高效沟通的巨大好处。排版技术关注的是高度可读和一致的字母。好的字体是不引人注目的，除非有人注意，否则几乎看不见；我们应该能够直接看到字母的意思。然而，并不是所有的文本都需要打字。在历史和现代的例子中，为了艺术的目的，文本被变形、扭曲和彻底解构。书法家把文本的片断变成像任何绘画一样美丽的铭文。有了这种刻字，平衡和构图等艺术目标占上风；一致性不那么重要，甚至可能会放弃可读性。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。我对研究三种特定的书法风格很感兴趣：一种是将铭文变形为可识别形状的具象书法；涂鸦标签和壁画；以及歧义，即倒置时看起来相同的简短铭文。我将创造一些工具，让计算机用户、平面设计专业人员和艺术家在书法方面拥有他们目前享受的与字体相同的表现力。

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.