A method to create sculptures with Chinkin in the virtual space

In this paper, a method to enable people to experience “Chinkin” in the virtual space is proposed. Chinkin is a traditional artistic technique in Japan and some Asian countries to draw designs on lacquer ware with fine lines and dots, and it was widely used to produce Daimyo´s utensils in the Edo period during the 17th and the 19th century. The author develops a virtual Chinkin system based on the virtual sculpting method which is an interactive CG creating method developed by the author. Chinkin consists of some processes and each process is realized by virtual carving: an interactive deformation of solids, and virtual painting: an interactive generation of a 3D texture map. Improvement in a rendering method is also given for more useful operation. In this system, the user can experience each process of the Chinkin technique in the virtual space and can create virtual sculptures ornamented with Chinkin designs as CG. Both the operation and the result are similar to the real ones and it would be useful for introduction, education and preservation of the traditional Chinkin technique.