Video image creation system which proportionally mixes previously created image pixel data with currently created data
First Claim
1. A video image creation system comprising:
- manually operable means for designating variable coordinate locations under manual control;
means for providing current image data pertaining to a patch of picture points allocated to a designated coordinate location; and
processing means for processing the image for each picture point allocated to a designated coordinate location from both current and previously derived image data to derive new image data for the respective picture point comprising proportions of said current and said previously derived image data;
generator means for generating a parameter which determines the proportions of current and previously derived image data processed by said processing means and which is varied on a picture point by picture point basis so that the proportion of current image data relative to previously derived image data at each picture point in the patch corresponds to the projection on said picture point of the appropriate portion of a continuous three dimensional shape representing the distribution around the center of a notional artist'"'"'s implement the placement of which is determined by said designated coordinate location, the said shape having a high central region and decreasing from said region to the edge of the shape.
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Abstract
Video image creation in which a raster-scan monitor displays an image comprising realistic, inherently non-aliased strokes created by combining proportions of the values of: (i) pixels defining a simulated brush moving along the image as an artist moves a pen on a tablet in continuous strokes; and (ii) the values of the pixels in the image that are under the brush at the time. The pixel values resulting from such combining replace the corresponding pixel values in the image so that, after an initial portion of a stroke, the pixel values in the image which are under the brush and therefore will be combined with the brush values comprise pixel values which are the cumulative result of a number of previous such combining operations. Manual pressure on the pen controls the proportions used in such combining operations. As the artist presses harder on the pen, the effect seen on the monitor is that more "paint" is applied. Image creation takes place substantially in real time, to retain the feel of conventional drawing or painting while providing the benefits of the electronic medium. The brush position on the image can be defined to sub-pixel resolution to improve the process. In an air brush mode, dwell time rather than movement of the pen initiates new pixel value combining operations.
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Citations
64 Claims
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1. A video image creation system comprising:
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manually operable means for designating variable coordinate locations under manual control; means for providing current image data pertaining to a patch of picture points allocated to a designated coordinate location; and processing means for processing the image for each picture point allocated to a designated coordinate location from both current and previously derived image data to derive new image data for the respective picture point comprising proportions of said current and said previously derived image data; generator means for generating a parameter which determines the proportions of current and previously derived image data processed by said processing means and which is varied on a picture point by picture point basis so that the proportion of current image data relative to previously derived image data at each picture point in the patch corresponds to the projection on said picture point of the appropriate portion of a continuous three dimensional shape representing the distribution around the center of a notional artist'"'"'s implement the placement of which is determined by said designated coordinate location, the said shape having a high central region and decreasing from said region to the edge of the shape. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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- 9. A video image creation system comprising manually operable means for designating coordinate locations under manual control to allow creation of the image to be affected substantially in real time, means for providing current image data pertaining to at least one picture point allocated to a designated coordinate location and processing means for processing the image for each picture point allocated to a designated coordinate location from both current and previously derived image data, and generator means for generating a parameter for determining the proportions of current and previously derived image data processed by said processing means, wherein the generator means is adapted to provide a parameter dependent on manual pressure applied to an artist'"'"'s implement related to said manually operable means to vary the proportion of current data used for processing.
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18. A method comprising:
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designating variable coordinate locations under manual control; providing current image data from digital computing circuits for a number of picture points forming a patch of picture points allocated to a designated coordinate location; using digital computing circuits to process the image for each picture point allocated to a designated coordinate location from both current and previously derived image data to derive new image data for the respective picture point comprising proportions of said current and said previously derived image data; and using digital computing circuits to generate a parameter which determines the proportions of current and previously derived image data processed by said processing step and which is varied on a picture point by picture point basis for the picture points forming at least a peripheral part of said patch so that the proportion of current image data relative to previously derived image data at picture points forming the patch corresponds to the relative distribution of a notional artist'"'"'s implement the placement of which is determined by said designated coordinate location, said distribution being high in a central region of said patch and progressively decreasing from said central region to the edge of the patch. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system comprising:
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a store for image data defining an image; an operator controlled device for drawing a continuous stroke designating a succession of positions defining a stroke in said image; a source of brush data; and a brush processor responsive to each designation of a position in the image to blend the brush data with image data from the store related to the designated position and to store the blend in place of the image data used in the blend; wherein the image data used in a blend in response to a given designated position comprise image data that resulted from a blend in response to previously designated positions in the stroke. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A system comprising:
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a computer-implemented source of brush data; a computer-implemented source of image data; a source of a blend control signal which has a selected parameter derived in response to manual pressure; and a brush processor blending said brush data with said image data in proportions related to said blend control signal. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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56. A system comprising:
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a store for image data defining an image; an operator controlled device for designating a succession of image positions; a source of brush data; and a brush processor responsive to each designation to blend the brush data with image data from the store related to the designated position; wherein said brush processor is selectively operable in a first mode in which the processor blends only in response to a new designation which is spaced in distance along the image from the previous designation or in a second mode in which the processor blends in response to a new designation which is spaced in time from the previous designation, whether or not it is spaced also in distance. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59)
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60. A system comprising:
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a store for pixel data defining an image; a device for designating a succession of image positions to a spatial resolution greater than the pixel resolution, wherein a designated position can comprise a sub-pixel fraction; a source of brush data; and a brush processor responsive to each designation of an image position to blend the brush data with pixel data from the store related to the designated image position and any sub-pixel fraction of the designated position, and to store the blend in the store in place of the pixel data used in the blend. - View Dependent Claims (61)
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62. A system comprising:
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a store for image data defining an image; a device for designating a succession of image positions; source of brush data; and a processor responsive to each designation to blend the brush data with image data from the store related to the designated position and to store the blend in the store in place of the image data used in the blend; said processor operating substantially in real time to allow for a display of the image data from the store data in a manner showing the results of the blending at a rate which gives the appearance that the display instantaneously shows a stroke painted across the image by an artist using said device for designating.
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63. An image creation system comprising:
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a pressure sensitive pen and a tablet generating position information identifying positions which the pen assumes in a continuous stroke on the tablet and pressure information related to pressure on the pen during the stroke; a source of brush data comprising pixel values for pixels in a patch in which the pixel values rise at least over a selected distance inwardly from the periphery of the patch; an image store comprising storage for image data comprising pixel values of pixels defining an image; a processor receiving said position and pressure information and, in response to successive pen positions identified by the position information, carrying out a corresponding succession of processing operations in each of which the processor retrieves from the store image data for pixels at positions in the image identified by the position information, processes the retrieved image data with brush data to combine the image and brush data into processed image data in proportions which depend on the pressure information and stores the processed image data in said store in place of the image data used in the processing operation; wherein each processing operation after a starting portion of the stroke comprises processing image data resulting from a number of previous processing operation during the stroke; and a raster-scan monitor which receives image data from said store and displays an image corresponding to the received image data.
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64. An image creation process comprising the steps of:
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moving a pressure sensitive pen on a tablet and generating position information identifying positions which the pen assumes in a continuous stroke on the tablet and pressure information related to a pressure on the pen during the stroke; providing brush data comprising pixel values for pixels in a patch in which the pixel values rise at least over a selected distance inwardly from the periphery of the patch; providing an image store comprising storage for image data comprising pixel values of pixels defining an image; in response to successive pen positions identified by the position information, carrying out a corresponding succession of processing operations in each of which the processor retrieves from the store image data for pixels at positions in the image identified by the position information, processes the retrieved image data with brush data to combine the image and brush data into processed image data in proportions which depend on the pressure information and stores the processed image data in said store in place of the image data used in the processing operation; wherein each processing operation after an initial portion of the stroke comprises processing image data resulting from a number of previous processing operation during the stroke; and displaying on a raster-scan monitor an image derived from image data in said store.
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Specification