Below are some examples of the algorithms I have written to instruct my painting robot, Zanelle, to paint.
I made the above graphic about a year ago to give patrons an idea of what kind of paintings Zanelle and I could create. I have written many new algorithms since, but for demonstrative purposes this should give a basic idea of what the robot and its programming is capable of.
The algorithms I have written range in complexity from completely independent and abstract creations by the robot with zero input from me (Example 1) to highly detailed technical reproduction of a photo (Example 5). In all of these compositions I had varying levels of artistic direction, while the robot had varying levels of creative autonomy. To use Examples 1 and 5 again, I had no input into its abstract creation. Zanelle made that design based purely from its programming. By contrast, in Example 5, the robot made no artistic decisions and instead simply executed very precise paint strokes based on a Bob Marley image I supplied. With this algorithm, it basically acts as a printer. The same is true of the photo portrait (Example 2) where it simply paint a portrait in a precise manner. All other algorithms, however, have a varying degree of autonomy and my participation.
I typically write new algorithms to experiment with artificial creativity once a month or so. There have been at least a dozen more since I put together this graphic. Check out my other websites and ebay store to see more examples. The links are to the left.
In my next post I will outline a brief history of the robotic heads I have made since I first started painting with a robot. Stay tuned.
Pindar
