Within the creative community there seems to be an ongoing divide between the realms of digital art, and traditional (non-digital) art. Often traditional art is viewed as somewhat archaic, conjuring images of the Mona Lisa or a Monet landscape. Whilst these masterpieces, and much of traditional art is of course pivotal to our conceptions of art and creativity, there still exists this divide in relation to the digital medium.

The smooth gloss of a photo manipulation has nothing to do with a beautiful oil painting. Or does it…?

Today I challenge the divide between old and new, and suggest that the varying mediums within ‘art’ as a whole are not only not unrelated, but inextricably linked. Digital art is of course directly influenced by the fundamental principles of traditional art. As graphic designers this is not a chicken egg scenario, digital art would simply not exist without traditional art.

The beauty of these varying mediums is that they can help one another. Whilst traditional art does have certain limitations (as does digital art), digital art can often take hand produced pieces to new dimensions. Digital techniques are often the best way to lift a piece of traditional art, giving it new life and substance.

Today I will show you three incredibly talented artists, who are each masters of both traditional, and digital mediums. What is especially interesting about their work is how they use digital techniques to enhance their already stunning traditional artworks. In fusing the two mediums their work takes on a new richness.

Incredible Hand-Drawn Works (With a Digital Twist)

Florian Nicolle’s Hand-Drawn Works

Florian Nicolle is very well known within the design community, and for good reason! His portfolio is a vast collection of mixed media masterpieces. Florian has clearly mastered traditional art, producing some incredibly realistic drawings.

What makes Florian’s work so intriguing is his treatment of his original drawings. It actually seems that some of his traditional techniques are influenced by the digital medium. For example his application of watercolor brush marks is reminiscent of the grungy, watercolor techniques used in many photo manipulations.

After he completes his original drawing he will typically scan it into Photoshop and proceed to color the image, often applying background textures and details. A common trait of his work is to use Photoshop to paste relevant words over his portraits (for example the lyrics to Billy Jean are laid over his portrait of Michael Jackson).

Andreas Preis’ Hand Drawn Works

Andreas Preis has one of the most unique styles I’ve come across, and a really wonderful portfolio of art to back it up. His work is typically produced using ink in the early stages. He is a true master of the cross-hatching method of shading, giving his works an incredibly detailed, precise look.

Often he will use Photoshop to digitally color his images, whilst retaining the precise, sharp lines of his original drawing. This is a prime example of how combining mediums can produce the best results possible.

The important thing to remember though is that no matter what effects are applied in Photoshop, it is the strength of Andreas’ original drawings that are the basis for such inspiring art.

Alexis Marcou’s Hand Drawn Works

Alexis Marcou is an awe inspiring mixed media artist with a very unique style. Alexis’ work will typically begin on paper, producing some fantastic drawings. He then uses a range of mixed media techniques to add depth and detail to his images. Some notable examples include using a make up applicator to powder his image with subtle color, and refracting light from a prism to lay over his drawing.

Whilst Alexis’ work doesn’t make tremendous use of digital techniques, he is widely respected within the digital art/design community. His art, whilst using traditional mediums seems to jump away from the typical constraints of non-digital art. His drawings often take on the appearance of epic photo manipulations, with subtle lighting, gradients and coloring. Amazing what you can achieve with a little creativity!

(rb)

Noupe

  

When it comes to digital paintings there are many artists whose virtual brushes capture life as we know it in some form or fashion. Giving us glimpses at our world through their imaginations. Though some go beyond this world, and they dip their brushes in the wells of the fantastic. Giving us glimpses into worlds beyond our imaginations and often rooted in the mythic or magical. Fantasy art is a vivid genre that produces so many stunning creations overflowing with inspiration. Which is probably one of the reasons it is a genre that gets turned to so often to inspire the masses.

So today we have a showcase of fantasy digital paintings that we have prepared for our readers, to hopefully give them that creative recharge many of us need from time to time. With so many talented artists featured below we are sure that you may end up with a new favorite or two to follow from here on out. Enjoy!

Painting the Fantasy

First Lesson by kerembeyit

Pandora by blackeri

City Escape by Rozefire

Water dragon by Ironshod

the colossus by noah-kh

Phoenix by GENZOMAN

Welcome to the Wormworld by daniellieske

witch by burari

Princess by asuka111

Natural song by gotgituey

Pearl by thienbao

dance with bullet by jurithedreamer

Iron Mask – Black as Death by GENZOMAN

Playtime by kerembeyit

Persephone by blackeri

Adam and Eve by Rozefire

Solstice Gathering by Ironshod

the_summoner by noah-kh

Cerberus by GENZOMAN

Trapped by daniellieske

Blow of Diva by asuka111

Demon Warrior by gotgituey

Feona by thienbao

Legend of the White Tiger by mari-na

Fatal light by Candra

Facing the Nightmare by kokodriliscus

Bridge of Khazad-Dum

The Commodore by blackeri

Midnight Messenger by Ironshod

The_King_Of_Volcano by noah-kh

Rise of the Firelord by daniellieske

Hero by askua111

Plume by thienbao

Swamp King by Candra

dota Clash 6 by kunkka

IS THAT ALL YOU GOT by totmoartsstudio2

Lord Christoff Dargeroth by breathing2004

Black angel by artozi

Going back home by lamlok

Clone Knights by longai

the path of Kamisama by Harukim

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Noupe

  

Since their inception, video games have provided great inspiration for offline artists and digital artists alike. Video games generally adhere to a fantasy theme, which is perhaps what makes them so intriguing visually. Often characters are exaggerated human forms, with bulging bodies, enormous power, or great speed and agility. Many games include characters of another species, possessing magical powers and skills.

Undoubtedly video games offer some of the richest character designs. Of course video games don’t stop at character design. Entire worlds are invented for these characters to inhabit, and whilst they range from the minimal, to the vast and sprawling, these worlds are often visually intriguing.

Today we’ve compiled over 50 examples of wonderful digital art inspired by the video game format. These illustrations range from depictions of famous characters, to epic battles, landscapes and even text effects.

Digital Art Inspired by Video Games

Ry Spirit’s Video Game Art

Ry Spirit is a hugely talented digital artist who has built up a Facebook following in the thousands. His work has very unique style, being both bold/colorful and cartoony. Whilst some of his work does include sharp outlines, generally his compositions have quite soft edges, with a certain handdrawn feel to them.

We get a real sense that these pieces have been ‘painted’ rather than simply filled in with color in Photoshop. The rich shadowing and textures really make this work stand out.

Ry’s work generally put characters at the forefront. Interestingly he captures each character doing something indicative of their existence. Rather than simply placing a character on a plain background, he’ll have child-Link waking up in his bed, or pokemon mid-battle.

Sandara Video Game Art

Sandara is widely known for her detailed, realistic fantasy artworks. She truly manages to capture the essence of each character she observes. Generally her work will utilize lighting very well, engulfing dark characters in deep shadows, whilst using glows/rays of light to bring life to the piece.

There is definitely a sense of fantasy in her work, as her compositions tend to focus on magical creatures (dragons, elves, wolfmen etc…). She also tends to base each piece around a certain color palette, which evokes the mood in each composition. Below you can observe a magical couple amidst a purple, romantic landscape, or a fierce warrior, fighting through a fiery, amber scene.

Nezma Video Game Art

Nezma (otherwise known as Nat from Canada) is a talented digital artist with a penchant for capturing the magical world of video games. Her work shows tremendous diversity, as you can see from the examples below. She ranges from soft, cartoony drawings, to sharp vector designs, and realistic digital paintings.

What is admirable is that whatever medium she chooses, Nezma manages to capture the true essence of her character. The pieces below show great attention to colors and lighting and range from cute to ominous.

DXSinfinite Video Game Art

DXSinfinite has some truly inspiring digital art, much of it based on video game characters. Again, this artist shows tremendous diversity in his work, and can capture an anime scene, or a highly realistic depiction of his favorite character.

His work shows great attention to form, with the vastly bugling muscles of many video game characters providing a wonderful study of the human body. We get a sense of power and energy from many of his works, and he truly captures the might behind some of these popular video game creations.

GENZOMAN Video Game Art

Last, but certainly not least, GENZOMAN whose works are some the of most favored fantasy digital art in the collection. His work is rich in texture, lighting and details, resulting in a realistic, yet still very much fantasy outcome. He often combines his expert shading and digital painting skills with intense light effects in Photoshop, generally used to demonstrate the explosive powers of the characters he is capturing.

The backdrops for these characters are equally rich, and really place each creation in their natural setting. Each composition typically uses very bold colors and rich shadows to capture the ‘larger than life’ visuals inherent in the video game format.

Definitely an artist to keep your eye on!

(rb)

Noupe

  

As our technology evolves, so do the industries and professionals driven by it. Painters, once only using brushes and canvas have seen so many amazing new strides in digital painting software over the years, have taken to these new applications like a fish to water. And so many brilliant and inspiring digital paintings have poured from the galleries since. Which is what brings us to this post today.

As most of us in the design field are always looking for inspiring work to share, these digital painters pieces jumped out from the webs, demanding to be featured. So many fantastic paintings reminiscent of the great still life’s of yesteryear, all created with digital effects and brushes. These painter’s precision hold a wealth of inspiration just waiting to be tapped.

Digital Paintings

still life by janaschi

Pomegranate Still Life

Desk Job by algenpfleger

Ceramic and Glass by yumedust

boing boing by algenpfleger

Rose Coffee by depingo

Apple by katzai

Mindcage by I-NetGraFX

Still life by tincek-marincek

Red Queen by Ketka

Night at the Saloon by DawnFrost

Still Life by grey-seagull

Pruity by ebrulii

Horn Cup Spoon Still Life by ATArts

Dragonblood by ELConsigliere

Digital Drawing Still Life 02 by spiritwolf77

Stale Bread by nivalis70

Teapot from photo ref by silvercherry

Still Life by al-nay

1949 by robertmekis

Study Still Life 5 by Tsabo6

Happy New Lunar Year fxEVo

ox ccg silver whistle by skim-milk

White Still Life by cacodaemonia

Merry Urn and Friends by mckadesinsanity

Feather Fruit Skull by KatePfeilschiefter

Study Still Life 1 by tsabo6

Tea Party by sonicaust

Colour Study 2 by TheBlackVerse

Still Life – Fruits by Isra2007

Winter’s End by artcova

Pen and Ink by LancerMoo

Fruit Bowl by saintchase

Heartburn by phantastes

Grapes by CoryTheAnimator

L5R Toturi’s Tactics by higherdepths

after old masters 2 by griffinfly

boy with a coin by Fleana93

The Cowboy by komodoempire

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Noupe

  

One place that designers tend to turn when they are looking for something of an inspirational recharge is to the worlds of science fiction and futuristic fantasy artwork. These rich, highly detailed works tend to be a fantastic testament to the creativity it takes to bring about something spectacular from nothing other than the idea of a world often so unlike our own. Much like designers do whenever we start a new project, the artworks from both the sci-fi and future fantasy realm tend to search the world around us for ‘solutions’ before they creatively reimagine it.

Today’s post is to help get your inspirational wheels turning once again, while simultaneously providing you with some useful resources for taking your imagination into these waters for some projects of your own. Hopefully between the inspired showcase of work and the tutorials plus, you will find enough motivation to start providing some stunning insights into a future or sci-fi world born of your own imagination. Enjoy!

Inspiration

Far from the city by tredowski

Homeworld Ordalla by z-design

Worth enough? by radoxist

Smog by alexiuss

Impossible LOV3 ver.3 by Bluefley

Stone castle archipelago by CassiopeiaArt

Car Trouble by geodex

Abandoned station by your1st

Alpha Centauri by bazze

the gentleman by A-u-R-e-L

Cybertron planet by JJasso

Battlefield by max4ever

nomad by pascalblanche

exodyssey guard by vyle-art

Doctor Who by geodex

Rise and Fall of an Empire by maciejfrolow

Azimuth by attackvector

Undefined Object by maxspider

Portal by arsenixc

Solidarity by Rahll

Bon Voyage by ChristianBeyer

Primacore Station by Yakul

Near Death by Shai

View from Shimada’s Garden by ChristmasSocks

Darkness_concept_VI by Wen-JR

Hellbound by alexiuss

…towers… by tredowski

the Harbor Under Starry Sky by weiweihua

dry dock ver.2 by tredowski

Machinery of the Stars by alexiuss

babymoon by pascalblanche

Plotting course by Tryingtofly

Imperial Pharmaceutic Facility by Sabra74

Introversion by MattDixon

Tutorials

Design an Epic Sci-Fi Style Urban City Scene in Photoshop

Concept Art: Create a Sci-Fi Interior Using Digital Painting Techniques

How to Create a Retro Sci-Fi Computer Game Poster

Photoshop Tutorial: How To Create a Futuristic Sci-Fi Scene

Really cool Eclipse Effect in Photoshop

Photoshop Tutorial: Space Environment

Create Spectacular Sci-Fi Concept Art using Digital Painting Techniques

Resources

Amazing Science Fiction Textures Clipart

Matrix Code NFI Font

Tech Photoshop & GIMP Brushes

Free Photoshop Brushes: Rust and Sci-fi Glow

(rb)

Noupe Design Blog

  

In our continuing journey to offer our readers an artistic dose of inspiration to help carry them through the weekend and get them recharged and ready to go for the coming week ahead, we have put together another fantastic showcase to serve just such a purpose. This time around we have gone fully digital! Turning to that online hangout for artists who tend to walk the more anomalous path, we scoured through some of the freshest uploads over at Deviant Art recently to find some inspired pieces to pile into this imagination stirring post.

Given the volume of artwork being shared through the DA site, and the number of categories to sift through, for this inspirational installment we decided to narrow our focus and present our readers with only a slice of an expansive header like digital art. So for this post we have gathered some stunning fractals to kick things off, then we have a few vexels squeezed in, before we move on to wrap things up with a handful or two of digital paintings and airbrush pieces. Hopefully these will prove useful in reigniting your inspired fires so you can start your work week in the right frame of mind.

Fractal Art

We begin the showcase with a look at Fractal art. Fractals are an artform which uses algorithms to create and manipulate fractal objects represented by transforms that are assigned certain artistic properties by the artist. This complicated medium has been made more accessible for years now as the community has given rise to several fractal programs that while they may contain different levels of learning curves, they tend to be easier than working out the complex algorithms involved in the creations.

hyperben2

The first artist that we are featuring is hyperben2 on Deviant Art. An extremely talented fractal artist who manages to create pieces with such depth and an intricate nature that we could not put together this showcase without shining our spotlight on some of the pieces in their gallery.

Zen by: hyperben2

Nether net by: hyperben2

Node of Yesod by: hyperben2

krigl

Next up on the showcase, we have a few pieces from another fantastic fractal artist, krigl on Deviant Art. While most fractal work tends toward the abstract, these next pieces demonstrate how harmoniously these fractal elements can all be pulled together with a seemingly effortless ease to shape the abstract into something solid almost tangible.

Ivory Tower cracks by: krigl

Each-a-gweenz by: krigl

Sister by: krigl

HalTenny

Speaking of a more tactile feeling to some fractal artists’ work, our next bunch of breathtaking pieces are from the gallery of HalTenny on Deviant Art. With Hal’s work, we find ourselves more inhabiting strange new worlds with landscapes unlike anything we have seen beyond the scope of science fiction.

Temple Of Doom by: HalTenny

Momma Spider Tending Egg by: HalTenny

Tree Tops by: HalTenny

Random Artist Fractals

Before we check out of the fractal headspace and move into another digital artistic medium, we have a handful of other awesome fractals that we felt should be featured in the post. Though we only have taken one piece from each of the artists below, their contributions are just as inspired as the other works that wound up filling the spotlight, and we wouldn’t have felt right about passing them by.

Mold by: insaine

Expanded mandelbulb virus by: carlahoon

Cybernetika by: Complete-Loser

Fractal 365: Day 172 by: wildekyote

Silk Curtains by: kon16ov

Vexel Art

The next digital artform that we are going to explore on this inspirational journey, is Vexel art. No, not vector, vexel. Vexel art is an entirely pixel-based form of raster art that has the look and feel of being comprised of vectors. This mimicking of a vector graphics technique gives these pixel perfect pieces of art a much less whimsical tone than most of what we think of when we hear pixel art.

Pedro-92

The first vexel artist on our list today is Pedro-92 on Deviant Art. Pedro’s detailed face work, while maintaining a smidgen of that playful nature that one might expect from pixel work, combines an almost photo realistic contouring to give life to some spectacular examples of this artform.

Scarface 2 by: Pedro-92

Desire by: Pedro-92

Unidas by: Pedro-92

hextupleyoodot

The next artist on our showcase is another skilled vexel visionary who flawlessly gives life to three teens in vexel form. hextupleyoodot on Deviant Art breathes character into these three faces through this somewhat contoured artistic approach.

Becca by: hextupleyoodot

Brady by: hextupleyoodot

Amy by: hextupleyoodot

Alvaro59

If it is the more whimsical works that you are looking for from your vexel viewing inspirational pleasure, then the work Alvaro59 on Deviant Art is right up your proverbial alley. With such vibrant and colorful work, Alvaro’s work taps brilliantly into the roots of the pixel art world.

My World by: Alvaro59

Be Happy by: Alvaro59

Cookie Monster by: Alvaro59

pai-thagoras

In keeping with the cute and fun theme we have going after our last vexel artist, the whimsy rolls on in a much more macabre way via the artistic creations of pai-thagoras on Deviant Art. While still maintaining the playfulness one might expect, the artist beautifully illustrates from a small corner of the darkside.

Zombie Head by: pai-thagoras

Zombie Bride by: pai-thagoras

Mexican Wrestler: The Yeti by: pai-thagoras

Random Artist Vexels

Once more we wanted to check in on a few more random pieces before we completely moved on to the next section of the post. So below are a few more examples of this artform being wonderfully explored and mastered. These final pieces further demonstrate the flexibility of this artistic arena.

Eye of Horus by: brobizzy

Steam by: Kaesa

Victory by: olivv

Digital Paintings and Airbrushings

The final category of digital artwork that we are going to dive into for an inspirational recharge is digital paintings and airbrushed works. This expansive, and often breathtaking medium produces some truly imaginative and inspired works, which will hopefully rub off on our readers just as we planned. We wanted to finish strong, and feel that we have found stumbled onto some works that will allow us to do just that.

Valadrel

The first artist we have featured in this section of the showcase is the immensely talented Valadrel on Deviant Art, whose intricately detailed digital paintings virtually come to life off of their digital canvases. An easy addition to this round-up for sure.

T-rex tiral by: Valadrel

Trio-Piano by: Valadrel

Leviathan Vs Gabriel by: Valadrel

translucid

Speaking of easy additions to the inspirational showcase, the fantastic work of translucid on Deviant Art quickly found this interesting artist’s voice a spot. Technically, the third piece is a photomanipulation, but it shows the dynamic reach of the artists voice so we added in.

Station Windows by: translucid

A million lights flicker by: translucid

60 by: translucid

Hypa00

The next artist up on the showcase briefly takes us into space for a short journey through a fantastically rich verse in the gallery of Hypa00 on Deviant Art. With some spectacularly breathtaking scenery painted onto the digital canvas these looks beyond our world are inspiring to say the least.

Destroying planet and moon by: Hypa00

Earth Like by: Hypa00

A Cold World by: Hypa00

Vihola

Turning to somewhat of a darker place, at least in tone, we present the next artist on our showcase, Vihola on Deviant Art. The brilliant and bold artist’s brush breathes life into a much more sinister feeling world than we have come from, but does so with such grace it is hard not to admire the artistry.

Hideous Saber-Tooth Rat by: Vihola

Death’s Diary by: Vihola

Old Hero by: Vihola

nerdiesid

Lets keep this more macabre and somber train rolling as we unveil the work of the next artist in our showcase, nerdiesid on Deviant Art. This is another artist whose voice is so versatile and unique, even though it tends towards the dark, that we could not pass them by with our spotlight.

So Dead by: nerdiesid

Earth by: nerdiesid

Kampung by: nerdiesid

Random Artist Paintings and Airbrushings

As we wind up the post here we figured we would throw a few more digital paintings and airbrushed works at you just for good measure. Below are several more noteworthy additions to the Deviant Art archives that fall under this artistic heading that we could not let slip by under our reader’s radars! Hopefully you got the inspirational recharge you needed and if not, then perhaps these final few works will help get you there.

Kiss the Rain by: BecPriestess

Fire Mountains by: elvenfall

Venom by Broken-Orange

Peskett loses his head by: MayPylb

That is a Wrap

That does it for this showcase of digital art, we hope that it has helped to once again get your flames of inspiration raging through your imagination. If there are any of the works featured that really stand out and speak to you, please feel free to let us know in the comments which ones those were. Also feel free to hit us up with your thoughts on the various works overall, not just the ones that you were moved by. So it is with that in mind that we now turn the post over to you!

Consider Some of Our Previous Posts

• Beautiful Photoshop Illustrations By Artists Around The World is a post from the Smashing archives that can also assist you in your inspirational searches.
• 35 Incredible Digital Painting Tutorials is another post from Smashing’s past that you might want to check out once you have your inspiration up and running once more.

(rb)

Noupe Design Blog

  

In this exclusive roundup, we have compiled some very creative digital artwork inspired by geometric shapes. These shapes have always been a great tool for designers and artists to create their artwork in a simple yet aesthetic way. This type of digital art which includes geometrical shapes looks stunning and visually alluring. Some artists have combined two or more shapes to add more details into their designs. Let us know what you think!

Discard / Reuse

Geometry Series

CUBEN 2010

Abstract Circles

Gasoline Morning

Dream Galaxy

Symmetry

Abstract

02

misc projects 2009

Cloud Maschine : Abstract

BARRACA FLYERS

Zachte G

Circles

Vecto

Visual Response #3

EXPLOSION OF COLORS AND SHAPES

Composition #04

Impossible Symmetry

Synthetic geometry

Dance.ver.1

Digital Abstracts

Abstract Space

Patchwork

Stuff

Stained Glass Geometry

Geometry Serie

Air

GEODETIC

365 Days Project

365 Days Project: Lines & Geometry

D.R.T.H Geometrical Poster

The Great Pyramid

SUBSTITUTE

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Noupe Design Blog

Digital Signage Graphics Easily Convert Bitmap Images To Clean Vector Art

Some digital signage software solutions prefer vectored rather than bitmapped images because they scale much better on larger screens. Some of the better Flash animations make wide use of vectored images to help create smooth animations. But what if the only image you have is a small bitmapped JPG image? One solution may be Vector Magic.

Vector Magic (http://www.vectormagic.com) is an easy online service that will convert your images to EPS, PDF, SVG and PNG with just a few clicks of a button. There is also a desktop application version.

When I tested the service, I uploaded a somewhat dirty image. I wanted to see how well the service was able to correct for bad color degradation and other issues. I was surprised at how well VectorMagic cleaned up the image. The service does its best to fix a wide range of image problems. If you don’t like some part of the image conversion, there is a very simple pixel-level editor that will let you clean up any last bits. If you are not confotable editing your image yourself, VectorMagic does provide a service to hand-outline and draw your image.

There are some limitations that should be pointed out. The online service cannot remove backgrounds from your uploaded image (for transparency), but they report the desktop version does have this feature. I limited my test to the online version, so I cannot speak to this reported functionality. Also, Vector Magic does not have the ability to convert gradients to gradient vector shapes, but may have this feature in the future.

Using Vector Magic was very easy, no signup was necessary, and it’s free to try it out.

Simply:

1.) Upload your image. Vector Magic automatically figures out what settings to use and traces the image right away.

2.) Download the result! You can review the result in detail online before downloading it, and there are several tweaking options for improving it as well.

There is a short tutorial from Vector Magic that you can view at http://vectormagic.com/support/tutorials/how_to_use_it

All in all, I was very happy with the service and believe many of us with limited graphic image editing skills will find the service useful.

  

By Joshua Ellis

Generative art is a sort of blanket term for any sort of art which is created or composed using algorithmic or random processes, such as Brian Eno‘s 77 Million Paintings, which composites Eno’s visual art in such a way that there are literally 77 million possible combinations.

Other generative pieces serve as visualizations or realizations of abstract data sets or other information: one excellent example of this is Robert Hodgin’s "Magnetosphere", which uses incoming audio data to create beautiful abstract animations of stars and planets moving in a complex dance. Hodgin’s piece eventually became the current default visualizer for iTunes.

While this may sound a bit arcane, generative processes can be a valuable addition to any designer’s skillset, particularly for automating tedious tasks like creating “randomized” artwork or simulating realistic natural phenomena that are difficult to intentionally copy, like physical landscapes. It can also be a great way to rethink how you use your existing tools, like Actionscript or Illustrator.

Here’s a list of some inspirational and practical resources to help you explore the rich world of generative art and design.

You might also like to check out our article 45 Amazing Examples of Code Generated and 3D CG Artworks.

Inspiration

Joshua Davis

Joshua Davis (aka praystation) is one of the earliest artists to begin working with Flash/Actionscript as a generative artistic medium. His work includes the seminal and influential once-upon-a-forest art project as well as commercial generative work for BMW, Motorola and the band Tool. He is also the co-author of the Hype Actionscript 3 framework (see below).

Erik Natzke

Along with Joshua Davis, Erik Natzke is another generative Actionscript innovator, though his work tends to be more organic and "painterly", as opposed to Davis’ highly graphical style. Natzke recently created a collaborative interactive animation with French artist Genevieve Gauckler for Adobe’s Shortcut To Brilliant site, showcasing their CS4 suite.

Jared Tarbell

Jared Tarbell is one of the founders of Etsy, the popular site that allows artisans to sell their own handmade work, but he’s also a well-known and respected generative artist. Tarbell works in both Actionscript and Processing (see below) to create his delicate pieces, many of which — such as Substrate, seen above — can actually be run directly on his site.

Brian Eno

Brian Eno is one of the heavyweights of generative art. The former keyboardist for Roxy Music, creator of the “ambient” music genre and the iPhone Bloom app, and a well-known music producer for acts such as U2, Talking Heads and Coldplay, Eno is also a visual artist and designers whose work has appeared internationally. Recently, his 77 Million Paintings piece was projected onto the curved arches of the Sydney Opera House, as part of the Luminous Festival, which Eno curated.

Eno is also the co-creator of the Oblique Strategies, a deck of card which provides gnomic advice for artists who are creatively stuck.

Karsten Schmidt

Karsten Schmidt (aka toxi) is a British-based visual designer and coder whose work often transcends the screen in physical, interactive installations (like the sound-responsive LED floor above, created for the launch of audio manufacturer KEF’s Muon speakers). Schmidt releases much of his code as open-source, including his Processing toxiclibs (see below).

Daniel Shiffman

Daniel Shiffman is an Assistant Arts Professor at NYU and an artist and writer on Processing and other generative systems. His Vector3D libraries for Processing (for creating and storing 3D vector data) were so widely used that they were ultimately incorporated into the language as built-in functions. Like Karsten Schmidt, Shiffman’s work often involves real-world physical interaction with digital media, such as Reactive (2003).

Robert Hodgin

Robert Hodgin is a visual Processing/Flash artist and co-founder of the Barbarian Group (which he recently left to devote himself full-time to large scale installation work). As mentioned in the introduction to this article, Robert’s Magnetosphere Processing app became so popular that Apple incorporated it as the default visualizer for iTunes. Robert’s blog, Flight404, features a lot of useful information on both his creative and technical processes.

John Maeda

When he was a software engineering student at MIT in the 1980s, John Maeda became fascinated with the graphic design and typography of Paul Rand and Muriel Cooper. Maeda began to explore the odd landscape where software and graphic design came together, producing generative / algorithmic pieces that were far ahead of their time. In 1999, he was named as one of the 21 most important people of the 21st century by Esquire magazine

After serving for 12 years as associate director of research at the MIT Media Lab, Maeda became president of the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008.

Resources and Tutorials

Processing

Processing is a programming language originally developed by Ben Fry and Casey Reas when they were MIT Media Lab students under John Maeda. It’s essentially a dialect of Java, with a custom IDE and specific functions and constructs for visual/aural/interactive design, as well as interacting with external data sources and devices (such as webcams and the Arduino prototyping board). It runs on Windows. Mac OS X and Linux.

Processing is a great place for visual artists and designers to start programming, due to its relative simplicity and ease of use.

NodeBox

NodeBox is a Mac OS X app for creating static or animated visuals using the Python scripting language. Similar to Processing, NodeBox focuses more specifically on generative graphics. A great tool for developers who are already familiar with Python.

Hype framework

Hype is an Actionscript 3 framework developed by Joshua Davis and Branden Hall, designed to facilitate the creation of generative Flash-based artwork by providing pre-built functions for often-used tasks (such as laying objects out on a grid or making an object follow the mouse). There’s no formal documentation as of yet; the existing examples simply have source code displayed, but if you’re an intermediate or better AS coder, the code is clean and easy to follow. Davis and Hall also offer workshops for the framework, which you can register for from the site.

Generator.x

Generator.x is a blog/resource site for generative art. The Tools & Code section of the site features great links to software and code examples to check out. The site also has a Twitter feed and a Flickr group, which are updated more regularly than the blog itself.

Scriptographer

Scriptographer is a plugin for Adobe Illustrator (up to version CS4) that allows you to extend Illustrator’s capability via Javascript. Scriptographer can be used to automate boring tasks as well as modify existing and generate new artwork in interesting ways — generating random swirly foliage, for example, or random cubes and cylinders.

Because Scriptographer is an engine for creating tools via Javascript, the possibilities for creating new tools with it is literally endless — and because it’s an Illustrator plugin, it’s easy to incorporate with your traditional workflow.

Fractals In Actionscript 3

Flash and Actionscript are the most popular tools for doing generative art — particularly online — and this free PDF tutorial from Computer Arts UK by Chad Udell serves as an excellent introduction to creating generative pieces in Actionscript 3.

ContextFree

ContextFree is a Mac/Windows/Linux app for creating recursive artwork and animation, using a simple scripting language. It’s a deceptively simple tool that can — as seen in the above artwork — produce remarkably complicated effects, as well as extremely useful elements such as generated street/subway maps.

toxiclibs

toxiclibs are a set of libraries for Processing/Java by Karsten Schmidt that simplify working with color, geometry, and physics modeling. Well worth the download.

openFrameworks

openFrameworks is an open source toolkit that serves a similar purpose for C++ that Processing does for Java and NodeBox for Python, allowing C++ coders to rapidly prototype interactive media projects utilizing audio, video, OpenGL animation, and text. It’s still in pre-release, but you can download it for your platform of choice now.

Further Resources

• 45 Amazing Examples of Code Generated and 3D CG Artworks.
• Generative & Evolutionary Art group on Flickr
• technoligicalproceduralarchitekture playlist of generative video on YouTube
• Generative pieces on DeviantArt
• The Generative Art International Conference (12th annual conference to be held December 15-17, 2009 in Milano, Italy)
• Will Wright And Brian Eno — Wright (creator of Sim City and Spore) and Eno (who composed the music for Spore) discuss generative systems
• The Nature Of Code — an excellent online course for learning generative programming by Daniel Shiffman

About the author

Joshua Ellis is a writer and musician as well as a web designer and developer with over twelve years’ experience. You can find him online at his blog Zenarchery and as jzellis on Twitter. Joshua lives in Las Vegas with a cat, a large collection of books and several odd-looking synthesizers.

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