Drawn is a concert-performance in which live painting is augmented in real time, the painted forms appear to come to life. The performance explores the musicality of drawing by turning brushstrokes of ink into complex and energetic life forms.

A table on stage holds the paper, ink and brushes. A camera above the table captures the drawing and the image is then projected for the audience to observe. However, the projected image is not entirely unadulterated – a software analyses the video image and augments the image with synthetic graphics. The result is a hybrid video signal, combining both factual and fictional pixels. The hand-drawn gestures appear to have a mind of their own: they can be played with as though they weren’t actually painted on paper, and the user can push them around the page using only his hands.

One of the main concerns of the developers was to create a visual “instrument” that could be used in collaboration together with musicians. In this nuanced relationship between animated drawing and sound, the sketches, doodles, and gestures mix together with the sonic environment in order to create a dense and lively musical form.

By Zachary Lieberman and Pardon Kimura.

The videos on the website are really impressive.

Via Generator X.