The first piece of art I made with code was made 7 years ago today. I've worked on a lot of concepts since then, and I've always found it fairly cumbersome to modify them. It would probably be easier if I had written them more modularly to begin with. Once I started using webgl, the boilerplate made moving quickly unbearable.

In any case, I've recently started to build out a library that breaks all of my work down into modular components. The goal is to be able to easily branch off, combine ideas, remix things, and experiment. This is being done with the assistance of vibes.

I got things to a point where each module could be strung together and parameterized in a json, and now I'm working on a UI to make it even easier and faster to experiment and pivot.

you can find more on [bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/neel.sh), [twitter](https://twitter.com/dataneel) and [instagram](https://instagram.com/neel.shivdasani).

is generative art actually art, and not ai art? Sorry I’m really confused- I don’t support ai art, but I recently got a fine arts educational packet and it’s trying to teach generative art, so now I’m uncertain

Seems like all the anger about ai art has turned towards generative art/computer art in general

After months of work, the project is finally almost here.

I've been exploring how generative art can exist beyond a computer screen — as a physical artwork that continuously evolves in a one-minute seamless loop.

The prototype is finished, and this is the short film I created for the launch.

Kickstarter launches September 14.

Now it's time to see if it finds its audience.

I just wrapped up a project/article where I had AI artists compete using P5.js to create artworks, and then I had another AI act as the judge. It’s been an interesting experiment. You see a lot of examples of AI creating art with diffusion (ie Midjourney, Dall-e, etc), but having AI code P5.js utilizes more of the LLM coding functionality to interpret the users prompt and then the AI's ability to deliver on that prompt with code.

I’d love to hear what you all think about the project and art! Has anyone here tried something similar?

Also, I’m curious—how many of you are using LLMs to troubleshoot or even generate your artwork? Using Anthropic Claude to troubleshoot a flow field sketch was originally where I started thinking about this approach. I’m still figuring out the best ways to combine these tools, so any tips or insights would be awesome

TL;DR: Last week I shared GD Studio, a Mac app for designing generative line art. This week there's a new feature: you can now import a photo and convert it into continuous pen strokes and single pen-taps. Reposting for anyone who missed the first thread.

What's new: photo import

Add an Image layer, drop in a photo (from a file or your Photos library), and pick a conversion style. GD Studio reads the picture's light and dark and rebuilds it from continuous pen strokes and single pen-taps — never a flat ink fill — so the preview matches exactly what the pen draws. Brightness and Contrast sliders shape how the subject reads. Seven styles are available: Stipple, Halftone, Hatch, Contour, Outline, Sketch, and Squiggle.

Because everything stays real strokes rather than a raster fill, an imported photo behaves like any other layer — you can combine it with generative pattern layers, mask it, scale and rotate it, and send the whole thing straight to the plotter.

In case you missed the first post

A few months ago I picked up an AxiDraw compatible pen plotter and wanted a single macOS app where sliders and settings directly influence the final drawing. So I built GD Studio. With it you can:

• Create generative pattern layers (with a shuffle button for quick ideas)

• Add text layers, and now import photos as an Image layer

• Import existing plottable SVGs into a layer

• Adjust stroke, dash patterns, render styles (wobble, dotted, nested outlines), masks, scale, rotation, and positioning per layer

The result exports as SVG or PDF, or sends directly to Plotter Hub over its API — with options to optimize the SVG, fine-tune plotter speeds, and pause between layers. Plotter Hub is a Raspberry Pi plot server (free, open source) that lets you start / pause / resume and monitor plots over WiFi, so your Mac doesn't stay tethered.

• GD Studio (macOS, paid + free trial): https://www.synendo.com/gdstudio

• Plotter Hub (free, open source): https://www.synendo.com/plotterhub