Gesturism: A Movement-Based Digital Painting Interface for Embodied Artistic Expression
Author(s)
Pham, Chi
Date Issued
May 7, 2025
Abstract
This thesis investigates how full-body movement can be materialized into digital brushstrokes through computer vision, proposing Gesturism—a browser-based digital painting interface that leverages real-time body tracking as a creative tool. Rooted in theories of embodied interaction, gestural communication, and computational media, this research critiques the constraints of conventional digital painting tools that limit creative expression to the hand and wrist. Instead, it offers a novel system that integrates full-body kinesthetic data with customizable brush settings, thereby enabling artists, performers, and non-artists alike to draw with the entire body.
The project synthesizes methodologies from human-computer interaction, creative coding, and movement studies. A user study (N=14) evaluated the system’s usability and expressiveness across diverse demographics, including dancers, athletes, and digital painters. The data reveals differentiated modes of interaction: some users approached the tool as a space for choreographic improvisation, while others prioritized visual precision. These findings affirm the value of movement not only as input but as material for design—dynamic, relational, and expressive.
Beyond prototyping, this thesis contributes a conceptual and technical framework for designing with gesture as a medium, examining how movement data can be both structurally legible and aesthetically open-ended. An accompanying exhibition and film documented how viewers engaged with Gesturism in situ, revealing social, cultural, and perceptual layers of participation. The project foregrounds co-participation, affective feedback, and embodied authorship—offering an alternative path forward for digital art systems grounded in the whole body.
Major
Software Engineering
Art, Science, and Innovation
Honors
Art, 2025
First Reader(s)
Graber, Emily
Rich, Byron
Department
Computer and Information Science
Art
Type of Publication
Senior Project Paper
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Name
ChiPham_COMP.pdf
Size
74.7 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
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