(Artist Sketch) In this project, I created 5 drawing tools: ocPetals, ocSpikes, ocSpots, ocStitch, and ocDiamonds.
I approached this assignment with the idea of wanting randomness in my algorithmic brushes while still giving control to the artist.
I incorporated randomness into my brushes by creating them so that shapes are drawn at varying locations surrounding the mouse position
and having variation in the shades of fill color.
What I found successful about this project is being able to give the user more ways to use the 5 brushes through change of color and size.
I did this by allowing the color of each brush to be switched between greyscale and a red/maroon shade with a toggle key.
I also allow the user to increase and decrease the size of the ocSpots, ocDiamonds, and eraser tools.
What I like most about my color scheme is how the gold accent contrasts with the red and gives the drawings a pop of color.
What I feel could be improved is adding another toggle key to switch to a different color, such as green or blue,
so that the user can have more color options.
I have made a detailed and intricate art style with my brushes and my 12 drawings because of the thin stroke borders for the shapes.
The subject matter that my drawing tool seems to be good for is flowers, especially because of the tool that creates lotus-like petals.
The ocSpikes and ocSpots tools also seem to be good for drawing flower-like subjects because of the petal-like shapes that can be created with them.
The ocDiamonds tool seems to be good for creating a geometric background for the subject, especially when the brush is increased to a large size.
Details about the tools:
ocPetals draws the petals of a lotus-like flower.
This drawing tool uses the vertex and bezier vertex drawing commands to anchor the shape at the bottom of the canvas
and have the tip of the petal follow the mouse position.
ocSpikes draws spikes that change its orientation depending on the location it is drawn on the canvas.
The tip of the spike is orientented downward when drawn at the middle of the canvas and is oriented towards the middle of the canvas
when drawn at the edge of the canvas.
This tool also uses the vertex and bezier vertex drawing commands but it connects each spike to the last
based on the previous mouse position.
ocSpots draws slightly transparent ellipses of varying width and height surrounding the mouse position within 50 pixels.
The random number generated within 50 pixels is also used to alter the width and height of the ellipses.
Its base size can be increased or decreased using the '+' or '-' keys.
ocStitch draws a line with stitch-like criss-crosses along it.
This drawing tool uses the line function three times to draw a base line following the mouse position, the left-diagonal
stitches, and the right-diagonal stitches. The stitches slightly vary in length based on a random number passed as
a function argument.
ocDiamonds draws slightly transparent diamond shapes at random mouseY positions at the mouseX position.
This drawing tool uses the quad() drawing function in a loop that controls how quickly the diamonds get repeatedly drawn.
It can also be increased or decreased in size using the '+' or '-' keys.
Drawing Tools
'1' - ocPetals
'2' - ocSpikes
'3' - ocSpots
'4' - ocStitch
'5' - ocDiamonds
'0' - Eraser
'+' - increase size of tool ocSpots, ocDiamonds, or the eraser
'-' - decrease size of tool ocSpots, ocDiamonds, or the eraser
'g' - toggle between greyscale and red/gold color scheme
'x' or 'X' - Reset canvas to background color
'p' or 'P' - Save a screenshot of the canvas
How to use:
First press the key to select a drawing tool, then press the mouse to draw on the canvas.
To change the size, first click either '+' or '-', then reselect the desired drawing tool
(only ocSpots, ocDiamonds, and the eraser can change size).
To toggle between greyscale and color, click 'g' then reselect the desired drawing tool.