TopoLines
A tool for turning photos into topographic-map-like drawings.
Inspiration
During my time at UCLA, another student was working on using eikonal equations to make graphics. After seeing their work, I found a few other examples of this design online, such as this early paper on eikonal stripes and Esteban Hufstedler’s blog post.
How It Works
These images start with one or more seed points and propagate outward. I like to imagine a puddle with stones dropped at the seed points. As the ripples spread, bright areas in the original image let the ripples spread faster, while darker areas slow them down. By recording these ripples, we are left with lines that represent the original image.
Inputs and Variations
By fiddling with the parameters, seeds, and images, this tool can create several interesting effects. You can try it yourself on my Github Page or check out the code on GitHub.
