Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
conventional
window
subject
Figure 4.43: An Anamorphosis Window.
line of sight of the artist, whereas an anamorphosis window is tilted at a sharp angle to
the line of sight.
The Hungarian artist Istvan Orosz has produced striking examples [Orosz 05] of
catoptric anamorphosis. An example of oblique anamorphosis is the well-known paint-
ing The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein the young [Holbein 05]. It features, in the
foreground, a small detail, the distorted image of a skull. In order to actually see the
skull, it has to be viewed from a point to the right of the painting and very close to it
A cylindrical anamorphosis is a popular variant of oblique anamorphosis. A cylin-
drical mirror is placed on a flat plane and a deformed image is drawn on the plane.
When viewed in the mirror, the image looks correct.
Web site www.anamorphosis.com [anamorphosis 05] is a lively introduction to
anamorphosis, with many examples and special software, Anamorph Me [Anamorph
Me 05], that can input an image in one of several popular formats and prepare an
anamorphosis (either oblique or catoptric).
The four variations of Figure C.6 were
generated by this software.
Figure 4.44 shows how to create an anamorphosis manually. Start with an image,
cover it with a regular grid, stretch the grid and distort it, and then copy the details
of the image from each original grid box to the corresponding box (which is no longer
a rectangle) in the new grid. In order to obtain a cylindrical anamorphosis, the square
(or rectangular) grid covering the original image has to be stretched and bent into a
circular arc, as depicted in the figure.
Figure 4.44: Creating an Anamorphosis.
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