Employing Pythagorean Hodograph curves for artistic patterns

Abstract

In this paper we present a novel design element creator tool for the digital artist. The purpose of our tool is to support the creation of vines, swirls, swooshes and floral components. To create visually pleasing and gentle curves we employ Pythagorean Hodograph quintic spiral curves to join a hierarchy of control circles defined by the user. The control circles are joined by spiral segments with at least G2 continuity, ensuring smooth and seamless transitions. The control circles give the user a fast and intuitive way to define the desired curve. The resulting curves can be exported as cubic Bezier curves for further use in vector graphics applications.