A STENCIL FOR MAKING DRAWINGS WITH OBTENTION OF A VIRTUAL-DEPTH EFFECT AND A METHOD FOR USING IT

Abstract: The present invention refers to a stencil especially developed for making drawings and/or other characters, which are viewed so as to obtain a virtual-depth effect, as well as a method of using it. The stencil developed comprises a base piece (1) of any shape, provided with letters (2) and/or graphic elements (3) and/or wholly or partly preformed drawings (4), all of them cut therein, said cut-out elements being mold and patterned for reproducing drawings on a determined surface, said base piece (1) having markings at progressive intervals (m), so that the interval between 0 and 1 will be smaller than that between 1 and 2, the latter will be smaller than that between 2 and 3 and so on.

Description: "A STENCIL FOR .MAKING DRAWINGS WITH OBTENTION OF A VIRTDAL-DEPTH EFFECT AND A METHOD FOR USING IT" The present invention refers to a stencil especially developed for making drawings and/or other characters, which are viewed so as to obtain a virtual-depth effect, as well as to a method for using said stencil. More specifically, the present invention refers to a stencil especially suitable for making drawings of comic-strip characters, from which a virtual-depth effect can be obtained. For a better understanding of the stencil of the present invention, it is necessary to explain the basic con¬ cepts applied to develop it, taken in a more general plane of human point of view. The existence of different levels of depth in space is noticed when the pictures recorded by the two human eyes are gathered together by the brain. These pictures have a mi¬ nor difference from one another, which determines the distance of the objects with respect to the viewpoint. Similar drawings, disposed in horizontal line and with different distances from each other, viewed with the fo¬ cus in the front or behind the paper give the impression of being on different levels of depth. If one looks with the focus farther ahead, beyond the surface of the paper, the greater the distance between the drawings, the closer they will seem to be. When the focus is placed in front of the paper, the opposite takes place. The first procedure described, i.e. with the focus beyond the paper, is also called "parallel" viewing form, since the idea is that we will see the picture on the left with the left eye and the picture on the right with the right eye (maintaining the viewing axes of the two eyes nearly paralel to each other), until the brains can resolve the two pictures as being a single one. The other procedure, i.e. with the focus in front of the paper, consists in viewing the picture on the right with the left eye and the figure on the left with the right eye, until the two pictures overlap each other, crossing the view¬ ing axes of the two eyes. These two modes of viewing present some variations, which are the various levels of possible focuses. We have greater ease to "cross" the viewing axes ("crossing our eyes") than to "open" said axes. We manage to look at the tip of our nose, but we cannot simultaneously look t two objects which are at a distance greater than the dis- tance between our eyes, unless we are far away. This causes a parameter to be established, which, aiming at a specific re¬ sult for the "parallel" viewing form, the distance between the pictures should not be greater than the distance which sepa¬ rates the eyes. Since the average distance between the eyes and the paper for reading is of about 25 cm, the ideal is that the distance between the pictures should not be greater than 45 mm, because, starting from this average to obtain the effect, it is necessary to move the paper away from the eyes. Equal drawings arranged side by side with different distances from one another will produce the impression of be¬ ing on different planes of depth when viewed by one of these procedures, while slightly modified drawings can produce dif¬ ferent results. For instance, two triangles are drawn side by side, the one on the left being equilateral and the one on the right being isosceles, with the same height. By using the parallel procedure of viewing, the right side of the virtual triangle (which is formed between the two) seems to be closer than the left side. By changing the positions, the effect is reversed . In addition to the above concepts, it should be taken into consideration that the perception of depth is due to the fact that the pictures recorded by our two eyes blend together, these pictures being different, since each of the eyes occupies a different point in space. One can simulate the impression of depth in several ways, as for instance by "cheating" our brains from two or more drawings arranged side by side. There are two basic ways of looking, in order to perceive the effect; either by placing the focus beyond the paper, with the viewing axes of the two eyes converging ("par¬ allel" mode), or by placing the focus in front of the paper, with the view axes diverging ("crossed" mode). These two forms also present variations, which are the various possible levels of focus. Generically, the effect obtained with one mode cor¬ responds to the opposite of the other mode. If in the "paral¬ lel" mode a picture seems to be closer, in the "crossed" mode it will seem to be farther away. Equal pictures arranged side by side can simulate different planes, depending upon the distance between each other. In the "parallel" mode of viewing, the smaller the dis¬ tances, the closer the pictures will seem to be, while in the "crossed" mode of viewing the opposite takes place. Similar pictures (with minor differences between each other) side by side will give the impression of contin¬ uous depth, not devided into planes, if they are either below or above other alignments, which should have some kind of dif¬ ference from each other. The stencil of the present invention will now be de¬ scribed in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: - figure 1 represents a scheme showing two possible levels of viewing focus; - figures 2a and 2b represent schemes of obtaining the virtual image; - figures 3a and 3b represent an example of obtaining the dif¬ ferent results of the immage from an equilateral triangle (right), drawn side by side; - figure 4 shows a stencil model in accordance with the pres¬ ent invention; - figure 5 shows a drawing make with the stencil of figure 4; figure 6 illustrates another stencil produced in accordance with the characteristics of the present invention; and - figure 7 illustrates a drawing made by using the stencil of figure 6. In figure 1, it is possible to see how similar pic¬ tures disposed horizontally with different distances from each other can be viewed. Line (a) represents the line fo the first focus, where the pictures "match" sequencially, and line (b) represents the line of the second focus, where the pic¬ tures "match" alternately. In figures 2a and 2b the result obtained is shown by the two ways of viewing the drawings, as described above. Therein we can see the formation of the virtual image (V.I.) either behind the plane (P), according to the "parallel" mode of viewing, or in front of the plane (P), according to the "crossed" mode of viewing, respectively. Figures 3a and 3b show the obtention of different results from slightly modified drawings. Note that in figure 3a, by the parallel mode of viewing, the right side of the triangle in virtual image (the third one which appears) seems to be closer. When viewing from the opposite side, the con- trary takes place, that is to say, the left side seems to be closer. Figures 4 and 6 show two examples of the stencil for making drawings to be viewed in accordance with a virtual form, of the present invention, which constitutes a base piece (1) of any shape and made preferably of plastics or any other suitable material, with letters (2) and/or graphic elements (3) and/or wholy or partly preformed drawings (4), all of them cut out therein, which are used as mold and pattern for re ¬ producing the drawing (pictures or the like) on a surface such as paper or the like. In order to enable the combination of drawings which can be seen as if they were on planes of different depth (vir ¬ tual image), said base piece (1) has markings with progressive intervals (m) , so that the interval between 0 and 1 will be larger than between 1 and 2, the latter smaller than between 2 and 3, and so on. By taking such markings (m) as a base, it is possi¬ ble to repeat the drawings (letters, characters, signs, pic- tures, etc.) aligned horizontally with determined distances, resulting in the impression of depth when they are viewed with the focus out of (either in front or behind) the surface where they are drawn. When the focus is placed beyond the drawn sur¬ face, the smaller the distance between the pictures, the closer the will seem to be. When the focus is placed in front, the opposite takes place. According to the pattern adopted in the stencil of the present invention, smaller intervals result in greater depth between the pictures. The basic method of using the stencil of the present invention is as follows: (a) draw a horizontal straight line to serve as a base for the alignment; (b) place the picture and transfer it onto the pa- per, taking note of the point (for instance, point 5) ; (c) displace the stencil to the right until the noted point coincides with the next one, in this case, point 4, of the stencil; (d) transfer the picture in the new position, re- peating the operation as many times as you wish; (e) if you go as far as point 0, you will have six drawn pictures with distances which decrease from left to right. When the pictures on the right are viewed with the focus beyond the surface of the paper, they seem to be closer, and those on the left seem to be progressively farther away. In order to maintain the figures on the same plane, it is enough to use constant distances between them, repeating the same intervals. In this case, transfer the drawing, take note of the point, displace the stencil horizontally until the next point coincides with the point noted, transfer the drawing in the new position, take note again of the first point and re¬ peat the operation as many times as you like. Always maintain the horizontal alignment for new lines which you wish to ere- ate. In the case of characters, in addition to the inter¬ vals (0-1; 1-2; 3-4, etc.) there are smaller markings (m' ) on said base piece (1), to serve as a pattern for the displace- ment of specific parts of the drawing, as for instance the eyes, the nose, the ears, etc. In this case, draw at first the parts of the picture which you want to maintain on regular planes, taking note of the intervals. Then, basing youself on smaller measures, progressively displace the elements which you wish to move closer or farther away. Some examples of drawings with the obtention of a virtual-depth effect, which have been produced by using the stencil of the present invention, containing letters, signs, characters and comic-strip characters, are illustrated in fig- ures 5 and 7. It should be noted that, in scenes where equal pic¬ tures are repeated, it should be paid attention to the dis¬ tances used. For instance, a 15 mm broad picture repeated in horizontal line at the distance of 20 mm, when close to an- other line with a pattern of measure between the pictures of 30mm, as illustrated in figure 8, causes a specific depth ef¬ fect, which is different from that when close to another line where the pattern of measure is the double, namely 40 mm, as illustrated in figure 9. In this case, the two lines seem to be on the same plane. This difference occurs because the com¬ mon possible focus between 20 mm and 30 mm takes place at a determined distance, when the pictures "match" with those which are immediately beside them, whereas when the distances are 20 mm and 40 mm, the pictures with distance of 20 mm "match" alternately, that is to say, at the same point as those of 40 mm, in order to come into focus.

Claims: CLAIMS 1- A stencil for making drawings with obtention of a virtual-depth effect, characterized by comprising a base piece (1) of any shape, provided with letter (2) and/or graphic ele- ments (3) and/or wholy or partially preformed (4), all of the cut out therein, said cut-out elements being mold and pattern for the reproduction of drawings on a determined surface, and said base piece (1) having markings of progressive intervals (m) , so that the interval between 0 and 1 will be smaller than that between 1 and 2, the latter will be smaller than that be¬ tween 2 an 3, and so on. 2- A stencil in accordance with claim 1, character¬ ized in that said base piece (1) is provided with smaller makings (m*) serving as pattern for the displacement of spe- cific parts of the main drawing. 3- A method for using a stencil in accordance with the preceding claims, charcterized by comprising the steps of: (a) drawing a horizontal straight line to serve as a base for the alignment; (b) place the picture and transferring it to the pa¬ per, taking note of the point (for instance, point 5); (c) displacing the stencil to the right until the point noted coincides with the next one, in this case point 4 of the stencil; and (d) transferring the picture in the new position, repeating the operation as many time as you wish.

Inventors: ARAUJO DE SOUSA MAURICIO, ARAUJO DE SOUSA, MAURICIO
Applicants: ARAUJO DE SOUSA MAURICIO, ARAUJO DE SOUSA, MAURICIO
Application year: 1996
Main classification: B43L13
IPC codes: B43L13, B44D3, B44F7