Generation of Escher Arts with Dual Perception

Abstract

Escher transmutation is a graphic art that smoothly transforms one tile pattern into another tile pattern with dual perception. A classic example is the artwork called Sky and Water, in which a compelling figure-ground arrangement is applied to portray the transmutation of a bird in sky and a fish in water. The shape of a bird is progressively deformed and dissolves into the background while the background gradually reveals the shape of a fish. This paper introduces a system to create a variety of Escher-like transmutations, which includes the algorithms for initializing a tile pattern with dual figure-ground arrangement, for searching for the best matched shape of a user-specified motif from a database, and for transforming the content and shapes of tile patterns using a content-aware warping technique. The proposed system, integrating the graphic techniques of tile initialization, shape matching, and shape warping, allows users to create various Escher-like transmutations with minimal user interaction. Experimental results and conducted user studies demonstrate the feasibility and flexibility of the proposed system in Escher art generation.