Plotter Art

If you're unfamiliar with what a plotter or pen-plotter is, this is what mine looks like:

An Axidraw SE/A3. It covers an A3 sized plot area where you can send your pen and have it go up and down. Now don't let the word pen-plotter fool you. It holds much more than just pens. People have been very creative with these devices and I too have already dabbled a bit with paints and brushes.

The latest iteration of the device - the Art Frame by Bantam Tools - even allows for extra downward pressure, opening up another array of utensils to stick to the robot arm like stamps or charcoal.

One of the things that has been fascinating to me to explore is the fact that you cannot color in (fill) shapes like you do in software. If you want a colored square you have draw a bunch of lines neatly next to each other. Or with some spacing to create different shades. This is technique known as hatching, a technique that is probably as old as drawing itself.

It's been real fun reimagining and exploring this with my new robot friend. The exploration is ongoing and is most prominent in the plots I make based on RSTR, the tool I made that turns images into plottable SVGs.

Besides that I'm also drawn to more conceptual and typographic work and am looking forward to having some more time to play around with paints and brushes. And inks and paper.

More of everything coming, so stick around!