Mint on Artblocks Studio
Enjoy a demo of the algorithm on Roots Unstoppable. Full screen and chill music recomended.
Sometimes, you must journey along an intricate path to uncover your authentic heritage.
Roots
‘Roots’ is raw, crude, unrefined, rough, fresh. Fat pixels, naked textures, rude compositions.
‘Roots’ introduces a straightforward algorithm, enabling the application of fundamental principles in design and visual language, establishing the foundation for the procedural generation of visual works.
The aesthetics aim to evoke in the viewer a sense of gazing upon something old, classical, and ancient. Something that subtly connects with the very origins of art itself.
Simple yet unexpectedly, the diversity within ‘Roots’ has been meticulously designed to encompass a wide spectrum of compositional variations.
Motivation and background
The need to create this collection arises after traversing a path in search of a way to generate highly realistic figurative art using only code and algorithms.
After several projects like Stations, Metropixeland, and especially UMK, where the generated pieces aimed to provide visual support to a narrative or story, this journey reached a turning point after building the UBK collection using generative AI techniques. At that moment, the need to twist my algorithms to achieve realistic images lost all meaning.
This revived in me the need to build something that reflects the purity of abstract generative art: visual language, diversity, coherence, and surprise, but clearly showing the existence of an algorithm as the generator of the artwork itself.
Figurative, pseudo-realistic works:
Stations #671 (Artblocks, 2022)
Metropixeland #238 (Artblocks, 2022)
Abstract collections
In previous projects like ‘Overcrowded’ or the Defrag Trilogy (fxhash), I played with abstraction and raw visual language to convey a feeling to the viewer.
Overcrowded #41 (fxhash, 2022)
Sweet Dreams #16 (fxhash, 2023)
Renaissance #5 (Hodlers, 2023)
Collection scope
With this project, I’m aiming for something abstract, possibly minimalistic, and with a classic touch, expanding my previous abstract works.
Roots is a collection that lives between minimalism and intricate outputs.
A dance between rigidity and flexibility.
Rough, raw, crude, dirty. With ancient art vibes and classic abstract compositions.
Sometimes surprising and unexpected.
Pieces that you can easily recognize from the distance and get lost into details on a closer view.
Zoom in!
Art pieces that evoke a sense of déjà vu or leave you pondering “What’s unfolding here?” – the intriguing blend of familiarity and surprise.
Personal thoughts
I approach ‘Roots’ by delving into the richness of diversity within a fundamental algorithm through the lens of classic abstraction.
This time, I don’t delve into a sci-fi tale, a particular narrative, or an attempt to imitate any specific painting style. Instead, it’s a pure display of computer graphics designed to immerse the viewer in an experience that feels genuinely authentic.
The concept of ‘roots’ stems from the quest for my vision of the essence of generative art. When we extend this concept to the art itself, it evokes a sense of classicism, antiquity, and abstraction. Every aesthetic decision, from palettes to textures and compositions, has been meticulously tailored to reinforce this very concept.
Dev Log – Creative process
Base algorithm.
The fundamental concept behind the algorithm, shaping the structure and composition of the piece, involved crafting a maze or map based on a grid that could be filled in different manners to cover the entire space.
The can of worms
Can you recall the classic snake game? Picture releasing multiple snakes onto a grid and allowing them to move until they’re all trapped.
Adjusting certain parameters of the worms can result in the emergence of various shapes and compositions.
What if a few of the worms evaded the grid, forming a structure around the central piece?
This part was straightforward. An initial algorithm for constructing the fundamental composition was established at this stage.
Constructing and molding worms
The following stage proved to be more challenging. It involved computing and storing the contour of each line as a sorted vertex array.
This approach allows for greater control over the form of each worm, such as drawing with varying thicknesses.
Debug view:
Then it calculates the needed points to draw a squared shape that covers the worm.
And last, more points are added interpolating each pair of vertices.
Including these additional points will prove beneficial for future rendering possibilities, such as introducing noise for a more organic drawing style.
Or creating smoother corners.
Or some another rendering techniques
Or even building a basic custom physics engine that allows rotations, gravity and collisions.
Some of these features didn’t make it into the final work, yet they represent the kind of elements that ‘worth a try’ when exploring the algorithm’s possibilities.
Coloring the worms
To determine the coloring method, a collection of predefined palettes has been established. Every worm selects a random color from the designated palette.
Here are some samples from the initial palette exploration.
Adding noise
The primary method for texturing involves adding ‘pixel sprays’ at every point of the shapes.
This creates a coherent noisy look.
The wavy tentacles
One of the composition choices involved introducing a secondary element to contrast with the rigid structure of the worms.
This element is organic, undulating, and moves freely across the canvas, in contrast to the confined worms bound within a grid.
In short, the tentacles are constructed utilizing a particle system that randomly and smoothly alters direction and thickness.
Exploration stage outputs.
Now, with a sufficient number of elements to provide an overview of the algorithm’s potential, an exploration of diversity was conducted.
Aligning with the concept
‘‘Roots’ embodies the essence of primal, raw, and unrefined. Its aim is to evoke a sense of observing something timeless, primitive, and pure, resonating with the very origins of art itself.
Up to this point, following the stage of exploration and development, the outcome doesn’t align with the intended concept. Although showing promise, it’s somewhat distant from what I envisioned.
Zoom in!
This is the moment when the overall feeling of the outputs change drastically.
Let’s render only the central part but three times bigger.
This alteration has transformed the generated output to speak a different language, more attuned to the desired concept.
At this stage, a substantial overhaul of the texturing method was undertaken. It’s not just a matter of ‘zooming in’. A different rendering method is required to avoid blurry outputs and allow adding more details.
Pointillism
The dominant texturing is formed by thousands of points. Every point within each shape emits a ‘spray’ of particles, generating a cohesive yet intricate pattern through noise.
Spray
Fingerprint
Pixelism
The overlap of shapes combines these textures, resulting in a captivating appearance.
More textures
Various layers of subtle textures with distinct color blending modes are used to enhance the rugged and raw aesthetic of the artwork.
Stains
Grid
Lines
All Together
Palettes
Coloring is determined by a range of palettes. The algorithm selects one for each output and then shuffles it, introducing greater diversity into the overall collection.
Inspiration: Ancient art.
Palettes are intended to embody the essence of raw, rugged, or even ancient aesthetics. Inspiration is drawn from a study of various ancient art pieces, emphasizing low saturation, earthy and natural tones, and a weathered appearance. These elements greatly influence the creation of the final palettes.
Six palettes has been designed:
Source
Origin
Foundation
Beginning
Genesis
Seed
Loading screen
The algorithm requires time to render the entire scene, and I aim to avoid presenting a blank canvas for 10-15 seconds, which might give the impression of a faulty script.
Developed a progress indicator that informs you about the rendering progress.
Shrinking the scope
Mosaic view.
The goal was to discover the optimal balance where the mosaic formed by the complete collection appears as a unified yet diverse comprehensive image.
A journey of continual adjustments, expanding and narrowing the range of outputs produced.
Mosaic view. Test outputs
If you have read this far, thank you very much. I hope you have enjoyed this extensive document and it has been inspiring or helpful to appreciate the beauty of generative art.
Cheers!
Fernando Jerez
Subscribe to my newsletter. I will keep you informed of my projects and new releases