Computer modulated drawing in graphics design

A hardware-software process is described which automatically creates computer modulated drawings from an artists' own work. The artist prepares a line drawing at his leisure, in his customary environment using standard art supplies. The result is then rapidly and automatically digitized into a computer graphic database which mathematically describes the geometry of the various lines which compose it. These mathematical descriptions are then dynamically perturbed to yield a drawing which is rendered in a completely different style and yet retains the general holistic form of the original. The type and degree of modulation is specified by parameters.The value of the system to a graphic artist is that it allows him to use a computer to generate complex variations of drawings which would be exceedingly difficult to prepare by hand. In essence he is being provided with the facilities of a computer 'darkroom' with which he can create new images from old ones. The computer is involved in its appropriate domain of tedium, and the artist retains his dominance in creativity. Moreover, the output medium for his efforts is not limited to a paper alone, but may be extended to materials capable of being worked by numerically controlled tools - he thus may see his creations cut into plastic, woven into fabric, burned into wood or hammered into metal. The process thereby helps to extend the power of computer graphics into the field of graphics design and broadens its region of applicability in commercial art, printing, and textile design.