Pen Plotting

A while back, Daedalus began exploring generative art but wanted a way to embed these creations into the physical world, making something tangible to enjoy away from the screen. This prompted him to invest in a pen plotting machine, which acts as the artisan’s tool to translate abstract art into physical form. Below are some of our favourites.

"Flow Field 1"

This project takes a 2-dimensional function and attempts to trace the it's flow field. It's created using a red and blue Bic pen.

"Perlin Mesh Grid"

This project takes a grid of lines and distorts the intersectional points using a special type of noise called Perlin noise.

"Mt. Fuji Pixelated Visualiser"

Using terrain radar data from NASA’s open-source library, I visualised the terrain around Mt. Fuji with my custom JavaScript pixelated visualiser. This detailed representation captures the intricate topography of the iconic mountain, bringing its majestic landscape to life in a unique, pixelated form. The entire drawing process took approximately 11 hours, showcasing the dedication and precision involved in translating raw data into a visually compelling piece.

"FL30CK"

This project, “FL30CK”, consists of 30 unique pieces, all generated from the same code but each with its own distinct characteristics. I started by building a physics framework in JavaScript for ‘Boids,’ which are models that simulate the flocking behavior of birds. Each piece begins with a bird name, like ‘pigeon,’ which is converted into a unique seed value using a hashing algorithm. This seed value influences various factors such as the number of boids, their acceleration, size distribution, and the strength of their attractions and repulsions, giving each piece a unique vibe.

"Moiré Patterns"

This project explores the 'Moiré' effect. This was created by simply taking two identical layers of circles in a regular grid lattice, but rotating one of the layers by a small angle. It produces this lovely repetitive effect; I also stopped the plotting of the second layer early to add some nice chaotic texture.

"Binary Rain"

This project incorporates code from my generative art live wallpaper 'Binary Rain', which you can explore through my 'Generative Art' section of the site.