VR Body Calligraphy - Whole-body Performance Writing for Chinese Calligraphy

Chinese Calligraphy is a millennia-old art form. It is an intangible heritage of the Chinese culture. Despite our digital lives, this art form has largely remained unaltered in its traditional two-dimensional expression. Current research is focused on AI-driven character generation on one hand, and on the other the replication of ink and brush dynamics within digital environments, as 2D simulations of the traditional paper canvas. Instead of imitating the existing, this research articulates a technical, artistic, and cultural evolution of Chinese Calligraphy Shufa 书法 from the traditional two-dimensional, material-based expression to a novel digital three-dimensional form within virtual reality. The paper is structured as a series of cross-disciplinary experiments amalgamating the essence of the traditional craft with today's possibilities in computer-human-interactions. Each is evaluated and discussed with an established traditional calligraphy master Law Ching-Bor, commenting on the transformation from single character to complex compositions. At the same time, advancements in finger and full body tracking technologies facilitate sculptural inscription in virtual space. We attempt to write calligraphy with choreographed whole-body gestures, translating these movements into dynamic, three-dimensional strokes of digital Shufa. The investigation details the scribing, interpreting, and experiencing multi-character calligraphy in a volumetric VR context. Ultimately, this paper presents Chinese calligraphy not as a relic of the past but as a living tradition - morphing, expanding, and resonating within the digital context, thereby transforming and evolving its cultural legacy. © 2024 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM.