# Drawing with Machines: Spring 2024

This page presents highlights of projects produced in Golan Levin's Spring 2024 *Drawing with Machines* course at Carnegie Mellon University. Key links include: 

* Additional and higher-resolution images can also be found in [this Flickr album](https://flickr.com/photos/golanlevin/albums/72177720316690822/).
* Here is the [Spring 2024 Syllabus](../../syllabus/60-225_syllabus_spring_2024.md) and the [Spring 2024 daily calendar](../../2024.md).
* The notes below were originally published in [this Twitter thread](https://x.com/golan/status/1789165483658244231). 

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Friends, a thread: projects from my Spring 2024 #generativeArt #plotterTwitter course at CMU, [*Drawing with Machines*](https://github.com/golanlevin/DrawingWithMachines)! I'm privileged to work with brilliant students from the [CMU School of Art](https://art.cmu.edu/), [CMU's BXA](https://www.cmu.edu/interdisciplinary/programs/) Intercollege Degree Programs, the [CMU IDeATe](https://ideate.cmu.edu/) program — and generous support from [Bantam Tools](https://bantamtools.com/), makers of the world's best plotters.

![overview](img/overview.jpg)

*Drawing with Machines* is a studio art course in creative coding, CNC drawing, and mechatronic mishegoss. Students explored ultra-niche workflows, generative art algorithms, and the use of machine collaborators as nontraditional intermediaries between mind, hand, and paper.


![shelly_hp](img/shelly_hp.jpg)

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/deng_watercolor.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/leo_eggs.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Emma Deng

2nd-year BHA student [Emma Deng](https://www.emmadeng.com/about) explored combinations of virtual and real-world fluid physics, using the [Bantam Tools ArtFrame 1824](https://bantamtools.com/products/bantam-tools-artframe-1824) and [AxiDraw](https://axidraw.com/) to plot designs with ink, watercolor, and Matter.js. Her large Chinese plot is the [*Buddhist Heart Sutra*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Sutra), a text intended to be copied as a meditative practice. Emma is studying Cognitive Neuroscience and Fine Art. 

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/deng_chinese_characters.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/deng_watercolor_2.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Lorie Chen

[Lorie Chen](https://www.loriechen.com/) used [openFrameworks](https://openframeworks.cc/), HP 7475A plotters, and the Bantam Tools ArtFrame 1824 to produce custom-hatched treatments of [reaction diffusion](https://github.com/jasonwebb/morphogenesis-resources?tab=readme-ov-file#reaction-diffusion) (an algorithm that produces fishlike spots)—focusing on ink layering, material failures, and the unpredictable irregularity of gel-pen media.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/lorie_pattern_1.jpg"/></td>
    <td><img src="img/lorie_pattern_2.jpg"/></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/lorie_pattern_3.jpg"/></td>
    <td><img src="img/lorie_pattern_4.jpg"/></td>
  </tr>
</table>

Here's more of Lorie Chen's work. Lorie created several small books from cut-up fragments of her reaction-diffusion plots. Lorie is a sophomore in CMU's hybrid BCSA (Computer Science + Art) degree program.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/lorie_pattern_5.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/lorie_pattern_6.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td colspan="2"><img src="img/lorie_pattern_7.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Vincent Wolfe

BFA sophomore [Vincent Wolfe](https://www.instagram.com/fangknife/) conducted multiple investigations with [PEmbroider](https://github.com/CreativeInquiry/PEmbroider) (our [Processing](https://processing.org/) library for computational embroidery), such as [this rotoscopic vector-art animation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r4ikNz2sI4) inspired by the work of BFA alum [Huw Messie](https://www.instagram.com/huwmessie/?hl=en).

[![Vincent Wolfe animation](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2r4ikNz2sI4/maxresdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r4ikNz2sI4)

Some more stills from Vincent's embroidered animation.

![wolfe_frames](img/wolfe_frames.jpg)

Vincent Wolfe also used PEmbroider and Processing to create these herbarium-style plant samples — implementing an [L-system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L-system) algorithm from papers by [Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz](https://algorithmicbotany.org/) and running the embroidery machine without fabric (i.e. only stabilizer).

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/wolfe_plants_1.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/wolfe_plants_2.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Em Lugo

BFA senior [Em Lugo](https://github.com/elugo1/) developed a TouchDesigner-based workflow for generating SVG images, which he then plotted by rubbing carbon transfer paper (!) with an [EMSL](https://www.evilmadscientist.com/) AxiDraw. Em also explored TouchDesigner pipelines for plotting designs derived from computer vision.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td rowspan="2"><img src="img/lugo_1.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/lugo_2.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/lugo_3.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Emily Liu

[Emily Liu](https://medium.com/studio6117/drawing-with-machines-7af3c376267c), a senior in the [CMU School of Design](https://design.cmu.edu/), used Processing [skeletonization code](https://github.com/LingDong-/skeleton-tracing) by BCSA alum [Lingdong Huang](https://lingdong.works/) to transform ultra-high-resolution scans of her fingerprints into greatly magnified, vectorized, plotted self-portraits.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td rowspan="2"><img src="img/emily_liu_2.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/emily_liu_1.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/emily_liu_3.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Santi Salazar

Santiago Salazar, a BHA junior studying Art and Cognitive Neuroscience, used EMSL AxiDraws and vintage HP7475A's to develop a distinctive, glitched approach to computational image hatching. 

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/santi_1.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/santi_2.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/santi_3.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/santi_4.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

One of Santi's most impressive projects was [*cuerpo y alas*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poSatspv0o0), a collection of plotted stop-frame animations informed by visual noise and radio static. The individual image frames are each about 5x3cm. 

[![cuerpo y alas by Santi Salazar](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/poSatspv0o0/maxresdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poSatspv0o0)

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/santi_5.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/santi_6.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Ana Jungle

2nd-year BFA student Anastasia Jungle has a keen interest in rule-based poetry and a material obsession with sandbags. They used PEmbroider and 
Daniel Howe's [RiTa.js](https://rednoise.org/rita/) to create a series of satirical barricades, with text generated from OSHA manuals and employment contracts.


<table>
  <tr>
    <td rowspan="2"><img src="img/ana_jungle_sandbag_2.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/ana_jungle_sandbag_1.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/ana_jungle_sandbag_3.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Mimi Chuang

The playful and wobbly [Line-Us plotter](https://www.line-us.com/) was a hit with many students this spring. 3rd-year BXA student [Mimi Chuang](https://mimichuang.com/) used it to develop an interactive storybook—merging Mad Libs and Mr. Potatohead—in which players can freely combine modular stickers of body parts with generated text.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/mimi_chuang_1.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/mimi_chuang_4.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/mimi_chuang_2.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/mimi_chuang_3.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Shelly Zhang

Inspired by the organic and crunky unpredictability of the Line-Us plotter, BFA senior [Shelly Zhang](https://www.zshelly.com/) used it to create drawings, drypoint etchings, and paper sculptures of squashed gnats and mosquitoes. 

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/shellyz_bugs_1.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/shellyz_bugs_4.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/shellyz_bugs_2.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/shellyz_bugs_3.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>


Shelly Zhang also used the tiny Line-Us to introduce material irregularity into machine-drawn stop-frame animations. Working in Maya, she developed a workflow for exporting frames of 3D geometries as plottable SVGs.

![shelly_zhang_combo](img/shelly_zhang_combo.gif)

#### G Meloche

BFA sophomore G Meloche developed custom workflows for generative geometry in Blender, building on SVG-export tools by [Maks Surguy](https://makssurguy.com/). They then used these to produce mixed-media pieces, combining Axidraw plots with hand-painted casein and acrylic.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/g_meloche_1.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/g_meloche_2.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Emma Im

BFA 2nd-year Emma Im created a “3D-print photobooth” in a project combining computer vision and real-time additive prototyping. [Her p5.js program](https://github.com/siye0ngim/SIMS) transforms webcam snaps directly into G-code for a low-cost 3D printer, as shown in this self-portrait.

![emma_im_3dprint](img/emma_im_3dprint.jpg)

![emma_im_vision](img/emma_im_vision.gif)

#### Finnian Brooke

BFA sophomore [Finnian Brooke](https://www.instagram.com/finnian_brooke/) explored "automatic" drawing in expressive and psychedelic works that combined hand and machine mark-making. In this example, a computer-generated noise field of AxiDraw marks (blue) is overdrawn by Finn's own improvised sketches (black).

![finnian_brooke](img/finnian_brooke.jpg)


#### Elise Chapman

[Elise Chapman](https://eliseraichapman.com/), a senior in the CMU School of Design, developed a Processing program to generate flourishes and asemic writing informed by traditional calligraphy techniques. Elise made heavy use of specialized AxiDraw attachments for angled fountain pens.


![elise_chapman](img/elise_chapman.jpg)

#### Mira Teng

This light painting was produced by CMU School of Architecture 5th-year student [Mira Teng](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mira-teng-050233212/), who directed a modified, autonomous Zumo robot to roam their house. Through long-exposure photography, Mira's drawing machine gave voice to the spaces between the walls.

![mira_teng_lightpainting.png](img/mira_teng_lightpainting.png)

These computer-engraved pennies were created by [Yon Maor](https://www.linkedin.com/in/yonmaor/), an Art+MechE junior, with an AxiDraw. The coins, coated in asphaltum and graffitied with brief provocations about labor, were documented under a microscope and then recirculated as currency.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/yon_maor_1.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/yon_maor_2.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/yon_maor_3.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/yon_maor_4.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Jude Bissonette

Art+MechE senior [Jude Bissonette](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jude-bissonette/) spent the first part of the semester experimenting with algorithms for image hatching, such as rejection sampling with Perlin noise fields, and a novel technique using the XOR operator.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/jude_bissonette_1.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/jude_bissonette_2.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>


Jude's final project was [*Asspire*](https://studioforcreativeinquiry.org/project/asspire), a real-time gestural controller for drawing with one's butt! It uses a 6DOF IMU and a pressure sensor to govern the shape of a plotted line and other generative art. Jude used [the device](https://github.com/jbissonette02/Asspire) in a live performance.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td rowspan="2"><img src="img/jude_bissonette_asspire_1.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/jude_bissonette_asspire_2.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/jude_bissonette_asspire_3.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

#### Leo Lin

[Leo Lin](https://leolin.art/about) executed a series of crisp conceptual wall installations with an AxiDraw SE/A3 pen plotter, including this [24-hour plotter clock](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6idEq3z7Rw). Leo's real-time system writes the current time—once per minute—all day long.

[![Leo Lin Plotter Clock](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/N6idEq3z7Rw/maxresdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6idEq3z7Rw)


More images of Leo Lin's *AxiDraw Clock*. Leo is a junior in our hybrid BCSA (Computer Science + Art) degree program.

<table>
  <tr>
    <td colspan="2"><img src="img/leo_lin_clock_1.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td><img src="img/leo_lin_clock_2.jpg" /></td>
    <td><img src="img/leo_lin_clock_3.jpg" /></td>
  </tr>
</table>

Another of Leo Lin's durational installation projects was his *Bounding Box*, in which [a drawing machine ray-traces the path of a simulated photon](https://youtube.com/watch?v=uxH9vzOfRnc) as it bounces around its enclosure. 

[![Leo Lin's Bounding Box](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uxH9vzOfRnc/maxresdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxH9vzOfRnc)

![leo_lin_bounding_box](img/leo_lin_bounding_box.jpg)

#### Mark Dunand's Collaborative Drawing Machine

In [Marc Dunand](https://marcdunand.com/)'s [interactive project](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfCeOq2Uj1s), participants draw a curve across a piece of paper. Using his custom vision software, a plotter then embellishes this hand-drawn curve with features like trees, lakes, and houses—turning it into a charming landscape. 

[![Marc Dunand interactive plotter project](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MfCeOq2Uj1s/maxresdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfCeOq2Uj1s)

[![Marc Dunand interactive plotter project](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/o3LQy62Ii-I/maxresdefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3LQy62Ii-I)

Some more photos of Marc's collaborative drawing machine, and its results. Marc developed the software using OpenCV and the AxiDraw Python API.

![marc_dunand_installation](img/marc_dunand_installation.jpg)

![dunand_closeup.jpg](img/dunand_closeup.jpg)

---

## Postcard Exchange

Students finished the semester with a postcard exchange, annotated in [this PDF](dwm_2024_postcards.pdf).

![dwm_2024_postcards](img/dwm_2024_postcards.jpg)

Thanks for your interest! If you're interested in browsing the "Drawing with Machines" course syllabus and resources, you can find these [here](https://github.com/golanlevin/DrawingWithMachines).

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