variablefaces

/*
*Sadie Johnson
*15-104 Section C
*sajohnso@andrew.cmu.edu
*Project-02
*This program draws random faces
*/

var eyeWidth = 20;
var eyeHeight = 20;
var faceWidth = 100;
var faceHeight = 150;
var earSize = 30; 
var x = 10;
var lensSize = 40;
var hairWidth = 100;
var hairHeight = 100;
var mouthSize = 30;

function setup() {
    createCanvas(640, 480);
    g = color(120);
    b = color(120);
    
    //rgb colors for the hair 
    //i wanted to put them in  certain range
    h = color(10);
    i = color(15);
    j = color(20);
}

function draw() {
    //fill();
    background(234,237,216);
    //draw background triange
    fill(140, g, b, 127); //color  
    triangle(0, 0, 0, 480, 640, 480);

    //draw hair
    fill (h,i,j); //random hair color
    ellipse(width / 2, height / 2 - 30, hairWidth,  hairHeight);

    //draw ears
    fill (168, 133, 73);
    var earLX = width / 2 - faceWidth / 2
    var earRX = width / 2 + faceWidth / 2
    ellipse(earLX, height / 2 + x, earSize, earSize);
    ellipse(earRX, height / 2 + x, earSize, earSize);

    //draw face
    ellipse(width / 2, height / 2, faceWidth,  faceHeight);

    //draw eyes  
    fill(225);
    var eyeLX = width / 2 - faceWidth * 0.25;
    var eyeRX = width / 2 + faceWidth * 0.25;
    ellipse(eyeLX, (height/2) -5, eyeWidth, eyeHeight);
    ellipse(eyeRX, (height/2) -5, eyeWidth, eyeHeight);

     //draw glasses
     fill(140, g, b, 127); //color glasses 
     ellipse(eyeLX, height/2 + x, lensSize, lensSize);
     ellipse(eyeRX, height/2 + x, lensSize, lensSize);
     //noFill();
        //draw bridge of glasses
    var arcStart = (width/2) - (eyeWidth*.25)
    var arcFin = (width/2) + (eyeWidth*.25)
    line(arcStart, height/2, arcFin, height/2);

    //draw mouth
    fill(89,23,23);
    arc(width/2, height/2 + 40, mouthSize, mouthSize, 0, PI+QUARTER_PI, PIE);

    }

function mousePressed() {
    // when the user clicks, these variables are reassigned
    // to random values within specified ranges. For example,
    // 'faceWidth' gets a random value between 75 and 150.
    faceWidth = random(100, 175);
    faceHeight = random(100, 200);
        eyeWidth = random(10, 30);
    eyeHeight = random(10, 30);
    earSize = random(15,40);
    x = random(0,20);
    g = random(0,225);
    b = random(0,225);
     hairWidth = random(100,175);
 hairHeight = random(100,200);
    h = random(0,225);
    i = random(0,225);
    j = random(1,20);
    mouthSize = random(5,35);
    
}

The hardest part of this assignment by far was making sure that all of the features remained on the face- that is, that everything was controlled by interlocking variables and not “magic numbers”.

David McLeod’s project “Polymorphism” is a set of videos testing the aesthetics of hypothetical objects in a state of flux. This project is inspirational not only because it is an impressive technological feat, but because McLeod manages to maintain his distinctive art style in a computer program with an element of randomness. Very little information was released about this piece, but the forms pictured seem to be many small spheres that transform to other textures when clustered together, which shoots the pieces apart and starts the cycle anew. McLeod’s artistic sensibilities focus on unrealistic textures that can only be computer-generated, giving the illusion of super-shiny rubber or long, soft hair. Although his forms are simple, he is also a master of graphical composition and uses bright, bold, trendy colors. All of these elements have come across in “Polymorphism”, making it an impressive technical feat.

MicroImage B Prints
Casey Reas

Casey Reas’s MicroImage series encompasses a very interesting set of prints (and some videos) of generative art. Reas himself developed the software used to create these pieces of art (pictured above, prints from the “B” group within this series). I very much admire the formal qualities of these non-representational pieces that he programmed, because they speak to a high level of understanding both art and technology – Reas is so skilled as to be able to naturally channel one medium into another, and create a work that is stunning in both forms.

Reas used the MicroImage software to develop this project, using Processing – an open-source language that he and Ben Fry created together with the intention of opening up programming to artists. The creator’s artistic sensibilities manifest in the aesthetic of all works produced through this software, a strange mid-ground between fractal and organic.