Please introduce yourself.
I like to stay relatively anonymous. But I think it is important to note that I use the pronouns He/Him.
Can you describe your art?
Little algorithms repeated many times to create rich textures.
What is in your toolbox?
I primarily create art using Python, C++ and Blender. I find that there are very few limitations to what can be done using these tools, however the process of implementing my ideas often ends up involving coding some rather low-level operations. I use the Shapely and Trimesh Python modules to create polygons, turn polygons into meshes, distort meshes, etc. The Blender Python API makes it very easy to directly render the meshes that are produced by my various algorithms. Having made a variety of different things over the past year or so, the code I have produced is probably the most valuable tool in my toolbox. There are many sub-problems which I run into again and again. Having tried and tested solutions to these sub-problems allows me to tackle more complicated projects. I feel like this progression is pretty evident when you take a look at the progression of my work.
Can you walk us through your process for creating one of the Sectional Curvature pieces?
The sectional curvature piece is basically a bunch of arcs moving along the surface of spheres with different radii, with each sphere centered on the same point. To draw a single arc, pick a random start and end angle on the range [0, 2*PI) and then pick a random 3 dimensional rotation (this ensures they are distributed uniformly on the surface of the spheres). Then simply move the arc each frame so that the arc loops around the sphere once over the duration of the entire animation. For the sectional curvature [extruded] pieces, arcs are instead pie slices of circles inscribed in a sphere.
Most times when I make an animation, I write a function that builds then meshes for a single frame, then creating an animation boils down to calling this function in a loop while modifying a few of the input parameters to achieve the desired effect. In the case of Sectional Curvature, the main adjustment between frames is just incrementing the start and end angle by some small amount to create motion.
Man, the Art Cardz project is so cool. Tell us about where the idea came from and how you went about creating it.
To me this idea seemed like a natural extension of the artblocks model. Rather than just controlling the seed of an artwork, what if you could control visually apparent attributes of the artwork you mint. In my opinion, when you are interacting with generative algorithms, it becomes a whole lot more fun when you have some control over the generated output. When meaningful controls are introduced, you get the best of both worlds: the power of generative algorithms / systems, and the ingenuity of human creativity.
Do you have future plans for the Art Cardz project?
I have many ideas. In general, here are few areas I am currently exploring
- More algorithms. There are so many possibilities here, and adding more will increase the diversity of what can be produced.
- 3d renders. If you have been following my recent posts on twitter you have definitely seen some of these.
- Although I don’t do it that often, I have made a few works that integrate music. I am really proud of stutter (https://www.hicetnunc.xyz/objkt/226064). I am exploring how music could be integrated into artcardz.
What are your artistic influences?
There is so much good art out there it is hard to really narrow it down to just a few influences. I find things I like and I try to explore the reasons I think that particular piece of art is so great. Once I think I can understand why a piece of art is working, I try to reinterpret those principles into my own way of creating art. I end up finding all these little simple ideas everywhere, and gradually they inform my artistic voice. However, to provide at least one example, I found Tyler Hobbs blog posts extremely useful when I was just exploring the space.
Where do you get your ideas for pieces?
Good question. The answer is unfortunately probably more boring that most would expect. When I want to create something new I try to visualize the texture or visual aesthetic that I want to create. At the same time, I am usually thinking about what algorithms or techniques can achieve this effect. It is difficult for me to completely decouple these two parts of the process, so it ends up being a kind of a negotiation between these two streams of thought. Once I come up with something that satisfies my curiosity, and is algorithmically feasible, I set about implementing it.
What are you working on next?
Artcardz and other interesting experiments that come up along the way. I have been trying to play with color more these days and started a new series called indeterminate on my color account (https://objkt.com/profile/tz1VJ7cb7CzooehWC59zKE9LcLzXAf25rTCs/creations). There are no rules for this series (hence the name indeterminate) aside from that it must prominently feature color.
Where can people find you online?
Twitter (https://twitter.com/landlinesart1)
I am also pretty active on the artcardz discord.