Perseverance
Perseverance is a generative art collection made up of 4 variations with a maximum supply of 500 pieces.
This project is based on the transformation of the initial algorithm into 4 variants that share common patterns, showing that with a solid base, artistic expressions can be diversified, achieving a unique visual traction in each type of piece.
It is the first art project based on inaccurate representations that I have worked on full time.
Here you can download this image and see the details in high resolution.
Its main features
The variations respond to different visual interpretations such as linear parallelism, concentric reproduction, the flow field and merely artistic tracing through gradual pressure on the points to generate lines.
Here we will talk about the 4 variations and their main characteristics.
The begining of everything
You will be surprised to know how everything started, with a few simple lines, points and strokes on a sketch, but these simple expressions were transformed over time to give rise to the works of art that today make up Perseverance.
This initial sketch is inspired by "Assenza", a generative artwork made in 2019 where I experienced visual depth based on reproductions of static points with deep colors.
After having the base of the initial sketch, I decided to give the points mobility, lower their density and the speed of their reproduction.
Through tests and modifications, the type 4 variation was born, but I still did not know that I would identify it that way, let's see how everything happened.
A small detail not observed, but very important.
On the left you can see the soul of the lines that make up Perseverance.
On the right you can see the lines that you possibly think make up Perseverance.
But this is not the case, this effect is produced by the grouping of lines interpreted on a small scale giving the sensation of homogeneous lines, not lines with a drop soul, but without a doubt in my opinion, this effect (Drop) is more beautiful than the effect that we would obtain with homogeneous lines.
That is why I decided to use the lines with a drop soul, you can see that I name them that way because of their similarity to a drop of paint that is found leaving a trace when sliding on a canvas.
At first glance you will surely think, wait, the right sketch is more beautiful than the left one, but let's see how this influences when creating sketches with more density and definition.
See what type 4 variation would look like if your lines were homogeneous (RIGHT) and what it looks like thanks to the start of your drop trace (LEFT).
You will see a relatively low density on the left and a high density on the right.
Visually we can appreciate a great influence on the feeling of depth and relief of the piece, this was generated through the distancing of the lines.
It's funny to think that the type 4 variation was actually the first type I created, but it wasn't the first type I shared, so I decided to name the first sketches I shared on my social media type 1s.
The birth of variations.
Well, we have the initial pattern of lines, now we try to give these lines an angular movement other than 0 and modify the reproduction of the lines and their density until we obtain a model with more neatness in its visual details.
This is what we got, the first tests were monochrome.
You can see that giving the strokes angular motion creates a kind of flux field, which arises from something as simple as strokes in angular motion other than 0.
This was the beginning of the type 1 variation, in fact a few months ago I shared sketches on my social networks.
From here, I had to make several modifications to fine-tune the algorithm and achieve the final visual traction, which identifies type 1 variation.
From the angular movement of variation type 1 I was able to obtain variations 2 and 3, which I will explain later.
Going into the details, variation type 1.
It's time to start working on visual scales.
Some people were drawn to these pieces included in Perseverance.
# 188 and # 408.
Let me explain, this representation that generates a certain visual attraction is nothing more and nothing less than type 1 variation, but the percentage of increase of the line is high, 20%, that is, it has an approach to the line of 80% (Zoom).
Now let's do the test but in reverse, we will observe two pieces where the lines do not have an approach, if not a distance in this case 200%, remember that if your Perseverance piece has a standard measure without any accompanying percentage, for example 3200x4116Px , this means that it does not have zooming in or out of its strokes, it is at 100%.
You will be able to observe soft strokes, as if they were made by colored pencils.
Your mind will think that they are homogeneous lines, but remember, the drop-shaped line is the soul of the collection.
Now let's look at a piece with a slight distance percentage.
Very nice right?
Let's take a closer look, you can see how the drop-shaped lines flood this work of art, without the previous explanation it is difficult to have noticed.
Ok, besides the weirdness of the lines, have you noticed anything else?
Remember that the first sketches of variation type 1 were similar to a flow field, but here once I managed to work with the algorithm and modify its details, this has changed remarkably, you can see how the lines are created through the main branches, It can be noted that the linear reproduction generated is similar to that of a plant, where we have the main trunk and then the branches, here established as linear bifurcations.
The final algorithm obtained is very interesting(TYPE-1), to this I added a detailed selection of colors, achieving a very important visual appeal.
Variation type 2 a unique style.
Let's forget for a moment the concept of type 1 variation and go back to the beginning, let's remember, we have a sketch with lines that has the initial shape of a drop, moving in the horizontal plane without angular interventions.
Now let's try to generate angular movement but in an inaccurate and somewhat sloppy way, somewhat away from the neat movement of the flow field, this will make the drop-shaped line more relevant, since it will be visually easier to observe.
It was not easy to achieve the result of the right.
At first I managed to generate sketches like the one on the left side, I was about to stop working with this algorithm, but I tried to zoom in on the strokes and add more imprecise and aggressive angular movement.
Perfecting the coding, type 2.
I was able to establish a configuration where the results obtained were very pleasant to me, I started from that base to interact with different color palettes and different approach of the strokes, by creating the variation of type 2.
I must admit that if I had not been persistent in working with this variation I would not have been able to obtain these results.
Sometimes, less is more.
Variation type 3.
We don't always have to add more code to create something more relevant.
On this occasion, the type 3 variation is a slight variation of type 1, while in the type 1 variation the lines have a greater prominence than the points.
In the variation of type 3, I tried to create a balance between the points and the lines, that is, the drops that I have talked about so much are observed.
This was possible because I shortened the life of the strokes, this allowed to make the drop style visible and at the same time I had to use a quite high zoom ratio (85%) or 15% as found in the properties, this can vary according to the dimensions, the smaller the dimension, the smaller the focus.
If a high zoom would not be used, the details that identify this variation would not be appreciated, the union between the point and the line, the "Drop".
If you pay attention you can see that variation type 3 is similar to variation 4 with respect to its lines, but to this is added an average density and angular interaction, added to the points previously described.
This clarification serves to understand how all types of variations share common patterns.
Let's talk about the properties
Dimensions, focus and margins.
Dimension This characteristic defines the dimension of the part, with 3200x4116 being the largest dimension and therefore the part with the highest resolution.
In addition, we will be able to observe pieces with a size of 1600x2048Px and 800x1024Px, the different dimensions were created to generate visual versatility, by demonstrating how the size of a piece interacts with the focus of its lines to generate a very interesting visual distinctive.
Let's see how the dimensions and focus of the strokes shape the appearance of a part.
Type 4, on the left you will see an intermediate dimension (1600x2048Px 25% Focus) and on the right the piece with the largest dimension (3200x4116Px25% Focus), this directly affects the composition of the piece, the visual differences are very noticeable.
You will notice that the focus is the same in both pieces, but as they have different sizes, the strokes can be seen further away in the right piece and closer in the left piece, it is a constant relationship between the focus and the size, this applies to all the collection.
Let's look at a similar example with type 2, where the dimension of the part and the focus determine the visual composition.
On the left we will see a piece of medium dimension, and on the right we will see a piece of greater dimension.
To this we add distances in the approaches and we achieve great results.
Left piece 1600X2048Px, with zoom 75%, Represented 1600x2048 25% in the properties
Right piece 3200x4116Px, with 60% zoom, Represented 1600x2048 40% in the properties, since this piece has a larger size, the zoom goes unnoticed but if it didn't have it, we could hardly see the lines.
Let's see the margins, what they are, why I created them and their differences.
We could define the margin as the free space between the end of the strokes and the final edge of the canvas.
This works as a kind of digital framing.
Let's look at some examples of large and small margins (borders).
On the right we see a piece that corresponds to the dimension of 3200x4116 with a focus of 35% that is to say a zoom of 65% with a margin of 30.
On the left we see a piece that corresponds to the dimension of 3200x4116 with a focus of 10% that is to say a zoom of 90% and a margin of 5. TYPE 3
The numerical unit of measurement of the margins corresponds to a negative unit, being the highest numbers, for example 50 or 100, the margins will be narrower or will hardly be appreciated.
Whereas if the margin number is small, for example 5, 10 or 15, the edges will be much more noticeable.
On the right we can see a piece with these characteristics, 3200x4116Px Focus50% margin of 50.
On the left we can see a piece with these characteristics, 3200x4116Px Focus20% margin of 10.
Let's look at some examples
Angle and density
Basically I could say that this is a purely technical classification, the angle corresponds to the angle that defines the angular movement of the sets of lines, when the angle is low we get slight angular interactions, and if the angle is high the interaction will be much more visible.
An interesting fact is that the variation of type 4 does not have an angular movement since it slides along the horizontal plane, therefore the determined angle is 0.
We can see on the left a piece of type 1, dimension 1600x2048, you will see that it does not have a focus, its lines are organic.
Its density is high and the primary angle is 360 degrees, a relatively low angle so its angular interactions are slight.
We can see on the right a piece of type 1, dimension 3200x4116 focus of 50%.
Its density is medium and the main angle is 1260 degrees, a relatively high angle, you will notice that there are more angular interactions.
Density corresponds to the number of line births in a given space, the pieces of higher density have a very visible agglomeration of lines, while in the pieces of lower density it is easier to observe the color of the background.
I will use the variation of type 4 to exemplify the density since in this type of variation the density has a much more important role than in the other variations, since it generates visual depth, due to the parallelism of its lines.
Here are two characteristics that play a very important role, focus and density.
In the example on the left we have a 20% focus and the part dimension is 3200x4116Px.
In the example of the piece on the right we do not have a focus, the line is standard and it does not have zoom, to this we add a high density and we obtain this visual effect of relief and depth.
I hope that little by little you can understand how the variations of density, angle, focus and dimension directly intervene in the final work of each piece and how all these aspects combine to achieve a different visual effect in each type of variation.
A striking and unclassified look, the texture.
The texture of the pieces was procedurally created and is a job that I do personally.
It started as a simple artistic experiment, which achieved positive results and that is why I decided to include textured pieces to the collection.
When they asked me about the textured pieces, I replied that this effect was applied randomly to pieces that met certain visual requirements, this is true, the pieces I used were chosen randomly, but they had to meet visual requirements in terms of to its colors, since this type of relief embellishes pieces with strong colored backgrounds, but can have an adverse effect on pieces of soft colors.
Here are some examples of textured pieces
Currently the number of textured pieces is minimal, and I like the idea of thinking that the most detailed collectors find them.
What I learned in this process.
I tend to be a very detailed and perfectionist person.
I believe that perseverance is part of the seeds of my future developments, since I learned countless new things in the process, these teachings helped me to grow as an artist and as a person.
I look forward to implementing all that I have learned in my future jobs.
I take this place to thank the beautiful community of Nil Dao and his fantastic team that opened its doors to receive this little artist.