Traditional Cultural Symbols in Virtual Costume Design: Presenting Intangible Heritage in the Digital Age

As one of the decorative patterns popularized by Buddhism in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Lonicera pattern embodies the plurality of national and religious cultures, preserves the original Buddhist culture, and represents its unique way of thinking and expression. Symbol primitives not only preserve the basic meaning and national characteristics of the original symbols, but also make the process of symbol innovation and design easier. Plant growth is characterized by a specific directionality and regularity.Directionality is defined by its extension from a point to a specific direction, and regularity is defined by the control of the number and shape of vine and leaf growth within a certain range.Take a rectangular, symmetrical five-petal flower. Lonicera japonica primitive for example, the decomposition of the Lonicera japonica symbol primitive is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Decomposition of honeysuckle basic unit pattern

Lonicera symbol is a primitive symbol consisting of flower stems and petals. According to the law of plant growth, the flower stem determines the direction of plant growth, and the petals determine the final form of the plant. Therefore, the position of petal growth on the flower stem as well as the flower stem is jointly called the path curve, in which the position of flower stem growth is called the main path, which is indicated by the red thick line; the position of petal growth is called the branch path, which is indicated by the black thin line. The branch path connected to the main path is labeled as position ①, and the corresponding petal is labeled as petal ①. Clockwise from position ① are positions ② and ③, corresponding to petal ② and petal ③. Starting from position ①, the counterclockwise direction is ④ and ⑤, corresponding to petal ④ and petal ⑤. By drawing the center axis of the flower stem and petals of Lonicera, we can determine the curve of their growth paths. By tracing the stems and petals of Lonicera, the curve of the elements that constitute the base element of Lonicera can be obtained.

The elements in the library of Lonicera symbol primitives are decomposed to obtain the path curves and element curves of the Lonicera symbol primitives, and the following four types of petal element curves are found: sharp-angled straight, rounded-angled straight, sharp-angled curled, and rounded-angled curled. The features of the four types of elemental curves are extracted and normalized.

Due to different craftsmen’s hands, different cave wall areas and materials and other factors, although the Lonicera patterns directly traced from the Yungang Grottoes mural paintings are basically the same in shape, their proportions, angles and forms are slightly different. On the basis of analyzing the original paintings of Lonicera, the coordinate method is used to standardize the pattern, and the individual pattern of Lonicera is obtained more accurately after proportional measurements and data calculations, which is convenient for the generation of digital patterns.

The standardized mapping process is as follows: (1) Trace and rotate the primitives. Trace an individual pattern of Lonicera by hand from the fresco photo drawing, and then rotate the pattern by a certain angle. (2) Determine the y-axis. (3) Establish a right-angle coordinate system. Make tangent lines at the top and bottom of the pattern, and divide the distance between the two tangent lines into 20 equal parts, where one part is 1 unit of length. Mark the coordinates -10 to 10 from bottom to top, and find the x-axis at the 0 point. According to the width of the pattern, from the y-axis to the left 8 units of length, to the right 10 units of length, the establishment of 18 by 20 Cartesian coordinate system. (4) Adjust the structure of the tattoo. Adjust the structure of the tattoo by combining the proportionality of the other Lonicera primitives.

The process of reconstructing the pattern involves selecting the appropriate model to replace the elements in the pattern, in order to obtain the modeled digital pattern. Select an appropriate number of coordinate points on the curve, use non-uniform rational B spline (NURBS) curve to draw the pattern after standardized mapping.NURBS curve is the basic tool for drawing computer graphics, can fit various curves well, and construct realistic, smooth contour and appearance.NURBS curve has a unified expression form, with the change of any one control point without affecting the shape and structure of the other curve segments, and its calculation is more convenient and stable, the control is more flexible and obvious. NURBS curve has a unified expression form, which has the advantage of changing any one control point without affecting the shape of other curve segments, and its calculation is more convenient and stable, and its control is more flexible and obvious. Its mathematical expression is: (1) C(u)=∑i=0nNi,k(u)wipi∑i=0nNi,k(u)wi\[C(u)=\frac{\sum\nolimits_{i=0}^{n}{{{N}_{i,k(u){{w}_{i}}{{p}_{i}}}}}}{\sum\nolimits_{i=0}^{n}{{{N}_{i,k(u){{w}_{i}}}}}}\] where C(u) represents the B-spline. N_i,k(u) is the k-order specification B-spline basis function determined by the node vector U = [u₀,u₁,……u_n+k+1] calculation. k is used to control the order of the continuity of the curve. P_i(i = 0,1,2,…,n) is the position vector of the feature polygon control vertices, and w_i is the weight factor corresponding to P_i. n is equal to the number of control points minus 1. In the actual application process, NURBS curves can usually be divided into two situations: one is the positive calculation problem, that is, the known control points solve the shape value points on the curve and generate the curve. The other problem is reverse calculation, where the value point on the known curve solves the control point of the curve and fits the curve through the known value point. After obtaining the coordinates of the vertices of the piecewise curve, you need to generate the digital pattern in the Visual Studio integrated development environment.

Combination of clothing design and digital technology is also in line with the development needs of the times, the application of digital technology in the clothing industry is an important complement to the information technology, digital era of clothing art expression, the abstract, scattered trends and specific elements of non-heritage fully combined to optimize the design process of apparel design, more and more accurate simulation level can be better restored to the fabric color, texture effect, stiffness and transparency, etc. The increasingly accurate level of simulation can better reproduce fabric color, texture effects, stiffness, and transparency, etc.

Marvelous Designer software is feature-rich, easy to operate, and has realistic simulation effects. The mannequin can be adjusted according to parameter settings to achieve accuracy in the simulation.The two-dimensional paper pattern window is identical to the three-dimensional virtual clothing window, which makes it easy to modify the clothing modeling at any time.Functions such as pleating tools and draw pleating can quickly achieve three-dimensional modeling of clothing.The drape of the virtual clothing is better, and the fabrics can reduce variability through attribute settings.Through the dynamic runway display, all aspects of clothing fit can be observed. To obtain the most ideal virtual clothing effect, repeatedly adjust the film version.

In order to explore the feasibility of the above extracted non-heritage symbols applied in 3D virtual fitting software, 3D virtual simulation experiments are carried out in 3D clothing virtual software. The 2D garment paper samples are imported into Marvelous Designer 3D virtual software, and then they are virtually sewn together. After sewing, the corresponding materials such as fabrics, sewing threads and symbols are added according to the experimental needs, and the attributes of the materials are adjusted, so as to make the symbols’ virtual effect in the garments more lifelike. The garment modeling process based on Marvelous Designer is divided into three stages: pre-preparation of the symbols of the Nendoroid pattern, drawing of the garment structure and model production, and the specific operation process is shown in Figure 2. First, symbols from traditional folklore are extracted, and then experimental symbol drawings and fabric preparation are carried out. After the clothing structure drawing, the symbols and clothing structure drawing need to be imported into Marvelous Designer in the format of jpg and dxf respectively, and a series of operations such as paper pattern arrangement, virtual sewing, setting and adjusting the attributes of fabrics and symbols, and virtual fitting display, etc. are completed in the software.

Figure 2.

Specific operation process

Marvelous Designer 3D virtual fitting software can complete the entire process of clothing design, from design to prototype to 3D virtual reality.The experimental steps for virtual fitting are as follows.

In Marvelous Designer software, through the new file, the two-dimensional garment structure drawing drawn in the apparel CAD will be imported into the Marvelous Designer software, according to the size of the garment to choose the appropriate virtual model, in the three-dimensional display window, the virtual model is surrounded by the arrangement of the points and the arrangement of the board, through the arrangement of the points and the arrangement of the board will be the clothing piece of the paper samples corresponding to one by one. Through the arrangement points and plates, the paper samples can be placed in the corresponding parts of the model’s body, paying attention to the correct placement of the paper samples in the front, back, left and right, and can be adjusted, added or deleted according to the needs. In the 2D pattern window, there are two types of sewing tools: one is line sewing, i.e. alignment sewing. Such as the front and back side seams of the garment piece, the front shoulder seam and the back shoulder seam between the sewing; another is free sewing, such as the provincial road and the waist, the neckline and the collar seat between the sewing. There are corresponding signs for both types of sewing, and you can change the use of both types of sewing tools according to the changing situation. After choosing the suitable sewing method, you can perform virtual sewing in the 2D interface and edit the sewing lines one by one correspondingly.

First of all, the three-dimensional human body model for parameterization settings, the initial model settings can choose the actual measurement size of the human body, but also through the three-dimensional human body scanner and other ways to choose the measurement software required in the height, circumference and other specific parameters. In Marvelous Designer, select the regular model’s body shape, height, circumference, and other values to set the reference values. The human body model as the basis of virtual clothing design, virtual clothing effect presents the carrier, the human body model body shape and other data in the virtual clothing effect presents play a very important role. The values taken by the model of this paper are set in the virtual model editor as shown in Table 1. In this paper, the standard middle body of model A is 162cm, and the three circumferences are 85-70-94cm respectively, and the dimensional size of each part of the model is set up and adjusted in the software, and the three circumferences and shoulder widths of the structural design are set up in accordance with the version of the placketed blouse to complete the establishment of the three-dimensional human body model.

Draw a two-dimensional garment sample with the dimensions shown in Table 2. The length and width of the jacket are 78.4cm and 70cm, respectively, and the length and width of the pants are 38cm and 32cm respectively. decompose the style effect of the planar structure of the lapel blouse in CAD, add key nodes to the cut pieces with the add point tool before exporting them, and then set the stop to 0, and export them to the format files that can be recognized by the Marvelous Designer software. In Marvelous Designer software, import the paper pattern of the blouse with lapel, and then copy and paste, left and right flip and paste to complete all the pieces, according to the human body projection, set up the corresponding arrangement of points around the pieces, and place them in the appropriate position in the 2D window, to increase the degree of fit of the mannequin. Use the sewing tool to make the shoulder line, division line and other virtual sewing in the mannequin, through the sewing simulation to realize the virtual clothing in the mannequin wearing effect, to realize the transformation process from two-dimensional to three-dimensional. The dynamic effect of the mannequin in the virtual wearing of virtual clothing effects, in the adjustment of the same time the three-dimensional sample window is also synchronized modification, and finally presented a satisfactory three-dimensional virtual clothing effects.

For this non-heritage symbols clothing design did questionnaire research, through the network issued questionnaire star, randomly selected 100 survey results for statistical analysis of the survey results shown in Figure 5. People unanimously agree that the application of non-heritage symbols in modern clothing design can represent the national image (87.75%), promote the country’s culture (75.5%), and promote the spirit (62.25%).

Figure 5.

The selection of clothing cultural symbols

And it is considered necessary to present the cultural symbols of the country in modern clothing. Among the concerns of non-heritage clothing symbols are the shape of clothing, color, and cultural presentation. Therefore, these elements need to be presented in clothing design to enhance people’s general recognition, so as to promote the recognition and dissemination of cultural symbols. People are more enthusiastic about traditional Chinese cultural symbols, such as the panda, Chinese architectural elements, the Great Wall, and snowy mountains, which have been used in the visual landscape of the Olympic Games. In addition, people also have a strong passion for novel elements, and the use of cultural symbols in costumes can provide more new symbolic elements. However, when considering the application of novel cultural symbols, it is necessary to consider the occasions and rules of their use. The non-heritage symbol dress should not only contain the presentation of culture, but also its shape and color is also a focus of the design, so the overall design needs to be guided by a more professional approach.