Computer-generated iron filing art

Abstract

This paper proposes a digital tool which enables users to create the iron filing effects. It is a 2D interactive system, where the user provides a silhouette of a 2D target shape and interactively specifies various parameters of magnets. Then, the patterns of the iron filings are automatically generated through the principle of magnetism. The system also provides a real-time feedback while the user updates the magnet parameters, i.e., the magnet lines are interactively displayed such that the user can speculate the final patterns of iron filings. The experimental results show that a variety of artwork can be created by the proposed tool.