User-oriented interactive style transfer

Neural style transfer (NST) can create impressive artworks by transferring a reference style to a content image. Current image-to-image NST methods lack the fine-grained control often demanded for artistic editing. To mitigate this limitation, we propose a user-oriented interactive style transfer (IST) method, using which a harmonious image like drawing can be interactively created. Our IST method can serve as a brush, dipping style from anywhere, and then painting to any region of the target content image. To control the action scope, we formulate a fluid simulation algorithm, which takes styles as pigments around the position of brush interaction, and uses diffusion in style or content images according to similarity maps. By dipping and painting, even employing a single style image can produce thousands of eye-catching works. Our method expands the creative capabilities of NST.