This paper introduces kinematic templates, an end-user tool for defining content-specific motor space manipulations in the context of editing 2D visual compositions. As an example, a user can choose the “sandpaper” template to define areas within a drawing where cursor movement should slow down. Our current implementation provides templates that amplify or dampen the cursor’s speed, attenuate jitter in a user’s movement, guide movement along paths, and add forces to the cursor. Multiple kinematic templates can be defined within a document, with overlapping templates resulting in a form of function composition. A template’s strength can also be varied, enabling one to improve one’s strokes without losing the human element. Since kinematic templates guide movements, rather than strictly prescribe them, they constitute a visual composition aid that lies between unaided freehand drawing and rigid drawing aids such as snapping guides, masks, and perfect geometric primitives.
