The Handwritten Letter 'e'

This illustrated landscape began as an effort to aid handwriting analysts. Everyone applies a different amount of pressure in their writing, resulting in a unique pattern of pressure points. Using a 3D ray-tracing program, Curtis DuBois was able to highlight the "hot spots" of pressure points and thus increase the amount of information available in the handwriting.

This image received an honorable mention in the illustration category of the 2006 Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge sponsored jointly by the National Science Foundation and the journal Science.

--LiveScience Staff

Credit: Curtis DuBois, Lummi Island , Washington