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Pen Plotter Experiments - Going Beyond the Ordinary

pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved through pen plotter

Background

Ever since I got a pen plotter in 2022, I have been using p5.js or Touchdesigner to create generative art and plot them using the printer. Pen plotter works great with simple pen and paper setup, but I wanted to experiment and see what else is possible beyond the normal. That's where this experiment came up.

Problem Statement

Pen plotter works well with simple pen and paper setup. But what if we can push its limit? An exploration to understand what is possible beyond the ordinary. The aim of the experiment was to use various mediums and tools, and analyse various concepts and ideas by bringing them to life through the plotter.

Materials Used

Since the experiment was done with a pen plotter, the constraint existed that something can be put in the pen holder could only be used. Here's a list of items used for various explorations:

  • Sketch Pen

  • UV Ink Pen

  • LED Light

  • 0.03mm Micro Tip Pen

  • Pencil

  • Brush Pen

  • Calligraphy Pen

  • 0.6mm Gel Pen

001 // Sketch Pen

Artwork created with Touchdesigner. Along with usage of multi coloured sketch pen, the idea was to see how the artwork reacts based on surrounding lighting.

002 // UV Ink Pen

Artwork created with Maze Generator Tool. Idea was to have a easter egg sort of thing which is not visible up front and only visible when seen under UV light.

003 // LED Light

Artwork created with p5.js. The concept was to go beyond any type of pen, pencil, brush, etc. and use something different. LED light along with long exposure photography technique was used to capture this.

004 // 0.01mm Micro Tip Pen

Artwork created with QGIS and open-source elevation data. Since I wanted to wanted to try something with ultra fine tip pen, what better than a contour map of the Himalayan range over Sikkim, India.

005 // Pencil

Artwork created with Touchdesigner. Been a fan of bevel and emboss effect in Photoshop back in the day. The ideas was recreate that by placing coins under the paper while just drawing a grid with plotter.

006 // Brush Pen

Artwork created with Touchdesigner. Being a physics lover, idea was to see how the weight of the plotter arm effects when it is at an extended state. Since brush pen does not have a hard tip, the force difference on pen leads to different non-regular stroke width.

007 // Calligraphy Pen

Artwork created with Touchdesigner. Studying how the strokes get effected depending on the angle at which the pen is used while drawing.

008 // 0.6mm Gel Pen

Artwork created with p5.js. Not much, just some ASCII art using simple gel pen. Skadoosh!