Integrating drawing tools with behavioral modeling in digital painting

ABSTRACT

Our goal is to integrate traditional artistic media that demand hand dexterity (such as drawing) with intelligent systems techniques that may both constrain and nourish this dexterity. To this end we are experimenting with special brush tools that on top of traditional drawing provide possibilities that involve information processing and behavioral modeling. In this work, we are introducing a behavioral model as a color processing feature of our brush. More precisely, we use a regulation mechanism, that has been shown elsewhere to solve a typical problem in artificial ant societies, to distribute color on the drawing canvas. Our drawing tool, called “AntBrush”, manages to create controlled color variety during drawing by regulating its own quantity of color through picking and depositing color on the canvas. Different color effects are possible by controlling the brush's parameters on line.

REFERENCES

• 1: Elpida Tzafestas, Tom Thumb robots revisited (poster): self-regulation as the basis of behavior, Proceedings of the sixth international conference on Artificial life, p.457-461, August 1998, Madison, Wisconsin, United States
• 2: Tzafestas, E., "Quand la complexite se truuve dans la graphique : Un outil pedagogique pour la vie artificielle," Proc. Journes de Rochebrune 2000, (Rochebrune, France, January, 2000).
• 3: Zouroudis, D., and E. Tzafestas, "An Information Processing Brush for Color Cooking," International Symposium on Electronic Arts, submitted (July, 2000).

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)

Additional Classification:
  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.3 COMPUTER GRAPHICS
      I.3.4 Graphics Utilities
          Subjects: Paint systems

  J. Computer Applications

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Human Factors, Management, Performance, Theory

Keywords:
ant algorithms, behavioral modeling, color cooking, digital painting