Inspired by my digital sketches, I explored creating physical art with a pen plotter—a robotic arm controlled by code—producing prints with unique analog qualities. I was curious to see if I could take it one step further and use the plotter to carve linocut stamps for block printing.
Introduction
Seeking to take my generative art further, I began using a pen plotter to create physical prints of my parametric sketches. I was especially interested to see how I could create gradients using small, repeated shapes.
Proof of Concept
I was curious to see if I could take it one step further and use the plotter to carve linocut stamps for block printing.
I performed a proof-of-concept experiment and found that while the plotter could carve the lino, it could only carve straight lines in one direction.
Software
Given the constraints discovered in the proof of concept experiment, I coded a utility using TypeScript and p5.js to convert input images into straight line drawings suitable for the plotter.
Carving
Once the image had been converted to a line drawing, I could carve it using the pen plotter.
Printing
Generative images could be printed using normal block printing techniques.
Workflow Visualized
Gallery
