Art Evolver

Strange Brushes

2010-11-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

I created a simplified version of my generative art program, which I call "Strange Brushes", that (almost*) anyone can use.

Click here to try it out.

Here's what it looks like after you've evolved for a couple of generations:

If you come up with an image you like, please do post a link to it in the comments.

*I've only tested this on the latest Chrome, Safari and FireFox OSX versions. Sorry if you use IE but I don't have the time or inclination to make it work there.

Artificial Selection

2010-06-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

From Hacker News via Andrew Hudson: This Artificial selection in the lab page describes an experiment with real live evolving visual patterns, analogous to what I do here but with pigments on guppies instead of pixels on a screen.

Artificial Selection or Unnatural Selection might have been a better name for this blog :)

Cloud Control

2010-06-20T12:08:00.000-07:00

Three descendants of Roller Rink Robotic Thumbprint.

Potted Plant

2010-04-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

Tears of Anger Never Put Out a Fire

2010-02-25T06:26:00.000-08:00

A Smile on a Dog

2010-02-16T23:09:00.000-08:00

Getting more interesting shapes now that I have Perlin noise working.

Greenwashing the Breast of Moloch

2010-02-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

Karl Sims

2010-02-06T12:17:00.000-08:00

I like his stuff. Check out Genetic Images, 1993 by Karl Sims:

Genetic Images is a media installation in which visitors can interactively "evolve" abstract still images. A supercomputer generates and displays 16 images on an arc of screens. Visitors stand on sensors in front of the most aesthetically pleasing images to select which nes will survive and reproduce to make the next generation

Here are some videos of his work with 3-D virtual creatures and motion graphics:

Impressive, especially given that this was almost twenty years ago.

Gravity Vision

2010-01-28T08:46:00.000-08:00

Three in a series, to demonstrate how evolutionary steps alter the images. Color channels riff off of each other, shapes get expanded, shrunk, skewed, added and removed.

After starting with a completely random set of equations and evolving them for about ten minutes, I got to this one. Almost looks like a backwards lowercase 'a' or bent 'b':

After a few iterations picking through various mutations that shed a gradient or two, we get to a crisper, more aligned image:

And finally I ended up here and called it a night:

The offset layered look reminds me of some of the things I see on grain edit - a fantastic blog, by the way. I love that aesthetic.

Roller Rink Robotic Thumbprint

2010-01-27T10:09:00.000-08:00

Pass the Ripple

2010-01-25T22:02:00.000-08:00

Meeting of the Psychedelic Elders

2010-01-25T21:52:00.000-08:00