Vector graphics on scattered curves

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. Mixed gradients (gradient mesh), which for the first time made vector graphics photo-realistic, became a breakthrough. A group of French researchers led by Alexandrina Orzan from the Institute of Technology in Grenoble in 2008 took the next step in 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.

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


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

An automatic converter created by Orzan and his colleagues generates a result, often very close to the original. In this case, a significant gain in file size is possible, while retaining all the advantages of vector graphics. The only disappointing fact is that the scattered curves were not included in the SVG standard, so this algorithm can be implemented only in a separate file format.

Result of automatic vectorization

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

via Hacker News