Blog 7 - Can't see the Art for the Tech
It's been an interesting week, and I sort of needed a break. You see, I've been doing a lot of research lately trying to make the best, most informative, content I can. So, in order to take that essential time to refocus my energy, I've been working on some more art. I wrote about the previous series of prints I designed a couple of weeks ago, and I've again reimagined an old concept of mine.
Procedural Calligraphy
Several years ago I was at a meeting of the Computational Art Circle at Purdue University and we had a speaker give a talk about Calligraphy. At the end of the talk everyone was given some paper and a marker to try their hand at calligraphy. Of course I gave it a try, but then I had an idea. I've always enjoyed the feeling of drawing gently curved lines, much like that of calligraphy, so I drew one long satisfyingly organic line that stretched the full breadth of the page. Then I drew another. And another. Each one branching from the first, then off of each other. Once I was satisfied with these lines, I wondered what it would look like if I repeated the outlines of these newly created shapes to then fill those shapes.
This was the bases of a new pattern that I fell in love with. It's simple and surprisingly satisfying to both look at and create. Obviously there are several aspects of it that are reflected in nature, and I think it's this organic quality that arose from a simple procedural process that really captivated me. And of course, if it's procedural, I should be able to recreate it with a computer, right. Right?
Enter Blender
Well yes, and no. I tried many times over the years. Either through my own lacking skills, or the vagueness of what it was I wanted to achieve, I haven't been able to recreate this sort of design in a procedural manner. At least not to my liking.
That is, until recently.
I had a bit of an epiphany, and I won't bore you with the details of everything I tried in Blender, but I finally got it to work in Geometry Nodes. And with that I was able to make a robust and dynamic system to make the art I've envisioned since 2018. Through this process I learned so much more about Geometry Nodes and proceduralism than I had expected.
My Personal Procedural Addiction
I have a bad habit of being over reliant on Geometry Nodes. I always want them to make everything in my scene, which is an ironic waist of time. I always want to be able to change things at a whim to find the best design, but that often comes at the cost of the time to make those robust systems that can ultimately be unnecessary. I've been slowly realizing that I should be using Geo Nodes the way the developers intended: as a modifier. I know that sounds obvious, but I've become so accustom to just using node trees that I forget the strengths of modeling things by hand. I think that's what kept me from realizing these designs sooner.
In the past I've wanted to make systems that not only created the ripple effects that I wanted, but also the satisfying curves. This isn't practical, and I hate to admit that I've only recently given up on making systems that can make every piece of the final art. But it goes further than that. I also realized that I have a bad habit of just changing the node setup when I want a different look instead of refining the inputs that I have to adjust in the modifiers stack.
I know all of this feels very self evident now, but for me this has been a pivotal moment in my experience with Blender. So I've been manipulating curves by hand, drawing them in Illustrator, and finally drawing them in Blender so that I can see the results as they arise. It's been really fun, and through this process as I change the inputs I've been refining the tool I've built to fit the different inputs and outputs I want.
It's been really freeing to spend some time experimenting instead of just researching and writing. I'm going to try and give myself more breaks to just make art in the future, because I find it far too easy to get lost in the weeds of the tech, and forget to make the art. I'm curious if this is just a me problem or if you all experience this from time to time. Let me know in the comments if you feel this sometimes too!
That's all for this one though, so I hope you all have a good week and I'll see you in the next one!
Imported from Patreon. Original Post date: Mar 31, 2024
