Scattered Curve Vector Graphics

Vector image on scattered curves

For a long time the possibilities of vector graphics were limited only by linear and circular gradients, as a result of which it was possible to create only “flat” images with a certain set of shapes. A real breakthrough was the mixed gradient (gradient mesh), which for the first time made vector graphics photorealistic. A group of French researchers led by Alexandrina Orzan of the Institute of Technology in Grenoble in 2008 took the next step towards the development of vector graphics. They developed tools for generating vector graphics on diffusion curves, including a program for automatically converting raster images to vector ones.

What are scattered curves? These are ordinary Bezier curves, but with color information at key points between which the gradient is changed using the multigrid method . This can best be understood in a few frames of the video presentation .


Scattered curves make it possible to encode a rather complex and large image in a very tiny amount of information. This is exactly what you need when converting raster graphics to vector.

An automatic converter created by Orzan and colleagues generates a result, often very close to the original. At the same time, a significant gain in file size is possible, while maintaining all the advantages of vector graphics. The only sad thing is that the scattered curves are not included in the SVG standard, so this algorithm can only be implemented in a separate file format.

The result of automatic vectorization

The Diffusion Curves graphics editor for Windows can be downloaded here (requires a good graphics card: GeForce 6800 or higher).
Scientific work .
A page with additional information and links to related studies.

via Hacker News