Path Generator

What is a Path Generator?

It is a series of experimentations with generative graphics. I made a script that generates a random, wandering path. Because of its wandering nature, the shapes sometimes resemble organic formations.

Round 01

The initial parameters I set were simple. The path was allowed to move up, down, left, or right. A different colour was applied to each direction the path moved in.

Round 02

Next, I increased the number of steps in the path, which had a big impact on the way it looked. It started to resemble a city structure or a complex protein.

Round 03

I started including diagonal directions. I also changed to colour scheme to one more typical of a map, which made it feel like a diagram of a forest viewed from above.

Round 04

One of my key takeaways from this project was the impact of scale. At a smaller scale the structures that govern the image become apparent. At a larger scale the structures are less visible, and our brains try to make make sense of the output. We begin to see things in them.

Round 05

Finally, I added nodes between each of the path’s steps, making the structure look more connected.