I think I’ll just surprise myself

Posted by Dan on Oct 1st, 2009
2009
Oct 1

Process

 

My process, such as it is:

  • I have an idea, like the Voronoi sudoku, so
  • I write some code,
  • Which generates some images,
  • Which gives me ideas for changing the code.

 

Lather, rinse, repeat.  The process seems to work best when it’s slightly out of control.  How is it out of control?

  • When I’m working on the code, I can’t visualize what the image will look like.
  • I usually introduce some sort of randomness, which means I really can’t know what will happen.
  • I make mistakes.

 

The result is that I surprise myself, I end up with something that’s not exactly what I expected.  This seems to be a nerdly recapitulation of something from Ehrenzweig’s The Hidden Order of Art:

The medium should be resistant enough to prevent over-planning.