String Art: Towards Computational Fabrication of String Images

Information

• Publication Type: Journal Paper with Conference Talk
• Workgroup(s)/Project(s):
  • MAKE-IT-FAB: Modeling of Shapes for Personal Fabrication
• Date: April 2018
• Journal: Computer Graphics Forum (Proc. EUROGRAPHICS 2018)
• Volume: 37
• Open Access: yes
• Number: 2
• Location: Delft, The Netherlands
• Lecturer: Michael Birsak
• Event: EUROGRAPHICS 2018
• DOI: 10.1111/cgf.13359
• Pages: accepted
• Conference date: 16. April 2018 – 20. April 2018
• Pages: 263 – 274

Abstract

In this paper we propose a novel method for the automatic computation and digital fabrication of artistic string images. String art is a technique used by artists for the creation of abstracted images which are composed of straight lines of strings ten- sioned between pins distributed on a frame. Together the strings fuse to a perceptible image. Traditionally, artists craft such images manually in a highly sophisticated and tedious design process. To achieve this goal fully automatically we propose a computational setup driven by a discrete optimization algorithm which takes an ordinary picture as input and converts it into a connected graph of strings that tries to reassemble the input image best possibly. Furthermore, we propose a hardware setup for automatic digital fabrication of these images using an industrial robot that spans the strings. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of our approach by generating and fabricating a set of real string art images.

Additional Files and Images

Weblinks

• Source Code
• DOI: 10.1111/cgf.13359

BibTeX

@article{Birsak2018-SA,
  title =      "String Art: Towards Computational Fabrication of String
               Images",
  author =     "Michael Birsak and Florian Rist and Peter Wonka and
               Przemyslaw Musialski",
  year =       "2018",
  abstract =   "In this paper we propose a novel method for the automatic
               computation and digital fabrication of artistic string
               images. String art is a technique used by artists for the
               creation of abstracted images which are composed of straight
               lines of strings ten- sioned between pins distributed on a
               frame. Together the strings fuse to a perceptible image.
               Traditionally, artists craft such images manually in a
               highly sophisticated and tedious design process. To achieve
               this goal fully automatically we propose a computational
               setup driven by a discrete optimization algorithm which
               takes an ordinary picture as input and converts it into a
               connected graph of strings that tries to reassemble the
               input image best possibly. Furthermore, we propose a
               hardware setup for automatic digital fabrication of these
               images using an industrial robot that spans the strings.
               Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of our approach by
               generating and fabricating a set of real string art images.",
  month =      apr,
  journal =    "Computer Graphics Forum (Proc. EUROGRAPHICS 2018)",
  volume =     "37",
  number =     "2",
  doi =        "10.1111/cgf.13359",
  pages =      "accepted",
  pages =      "263--274",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2018/Birsak2018-SA/",
}