| United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Wayang Kulit Indonesia as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on 7th November 2003. Indonesia is justly proud of the fact. However, as the pre-eminent form of Wayang Kulit performance in Malaysia, Wayang Kulit Kelantan (WKK) is threatened with imminent demise. There were more than 300 Dalangs (shadow puppeteers and narrators) in the 1960's but the number decreased tremendously to 11 in 1999.;This research aims to study the use of Computer Graphics (CG) to capture the visual styles of WKK and contribute to its preservation. First, a literature review was carried out to provide a historical review on the issues and topics. It also included the points of view and feedback from the Dalangs and fellow researchers. This research also presents examples of artworks, comics, animations, films and videos which depict the visual styles of Wayang Kulit as well as the examples of using modern technology to enhance the Wayang Kulit performances.;This is followed by a descriptive study on the visual styles of WKK. Then, descriptive comparison studies were performed on the visual styles of WKK and Wayang Kulit Purwa (WKP) in terms of (1) puppet design, (2) colours of shadow, (3) distortion of shadow, (4) movement of puppets, (5) movement of light source, (6) vibration of Kelir (screen) and (7) other natural and ethical symbols.;Finally, an experiment was carried to investigate the possibilities and effectiveness of using CG to capture the visual styles of WKK i.e. (1) movement of virtual puppets and shadow, (2) colours of virtual shadow (translucency of virtual puppets), (3) movements of virtual light source, (4) distortions of virtual shadows, (5) vibration of virtual Kelir, and (6) movement of virtual eyebrow, mouth and string.;This research tackled issues that have to be addressed to preserve the visual styles of WKK. It also provided some recommendations for future developments and further researches. |
