Computational Scaffolding of Composition, Value, and Color for Disciplined Drawing

DOI

One way illustrators engage in disciplined drawing—the process of drawing to improve technical skills—is through studying and replicating reference images. However, for many novice and intermediate digital artists, knowing how to approach studying a reference image can be challenging. It can also be difficult to receive immediate feedback on their works-in-progress. To help these users develop their professional vision, we propose ArtKrit, a tool that scaffolds the process of replicating a reference image into three main steps: composition, value, and color. At each step, our tool offers computational guidance, such as adaptive composition line generation, and automatic feedback, such as value and color accuracy. Evaluating this tool with intermediate digital artists revealed that ArtKrit could flexibly accommodate their unique workflows and encourage reflection-in-action on their drawing process. As a design probe, ArtKrit suggests that computational scaffolds that enact new norms may drive new artistic insights.