I spend a lot of my time alone. I like it.

This project is part drawing system, part isometric challenge, and part artwork.

The artwork is pleasantly laid out before the viewer as an empty city of thousands of buildings slowly comes to fruition for the imagination to fill.

The drawing system is showcased through a keyboard accessible menu (press the [m] key) where you can fine-tune how well, or badly, you want your city drawn. You'll notice the menu auto-updating to conform to the new drawing parameters as you change them. Initially I planned to have random drawing parameters assigned per edition, but found myself gravitating towards a cleaner look so often, I decided to make it the default, so the collection was more cohesive across outputs, and include controls within the piece for alternate versions, (for better or worse drawing skills) if you so choose. The menu system for this is a nice addition I think as well. NFTs can be so much more than just a jpeg.

Conventions have been made for removing the hatch lines (press [h] to toggle during drawing) as well as a pointillism feature (press [.] to toggle during drawing) for fun.

When You're Alone is entirely drawn with straight lines. There are no shapes used. Nothing curved. Just lines. This became important to me.

Controls While Drawing
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[m] = access the drawing menu
[?] = the list of keyboard commands
[p] = Pause the drawing
[r] = restart the drawing
[↓] = slow down the rendering
[↑] = speed up the rendering
[h] = toggle hatching
[.] = toggle pointillism
[1] = 4k resolution (default)
[2] = 8k resolution
[3] = 16k resolution
[x] = quickly randomize drawing parameters (also works within drawing menu)
[s] = save .png

Drawing Menu
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The interplay of the five drawing parameters, combined with the scale and lot size of the city, can lead to intriguing variations, enhancing the original's appearance and feel. A brief description of each.

Pure Drawing Skill - This is the most important factor in the final look and feel of the drawing. It can overcome a lot, and can not be overcome by much.

Concentration - This decides how long the computer can hold a straight line without drifting one way or the other along the path.

Pen Pressure Consistency - The more consistent, the more even the weight of the line will be. Less consistent lines will appear more broken, especially when combined with a fast drawing speed. This may be a look that is appealing or not.

Drawing Speed - This sort of bleeds into all of the other variables and decides how much or little impact their relative weights have on the final product. In addition, the slower the drawing, the more ink that bleeds onto the page giving a darker look to the drawing.

Pen Nib Size - The actual size of the pen tip/nib that the computer will use. Thinner nib, thinner lines.

Features
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Building Density: Dense/Normal/Sparse
Lot Spacing: Jammed/Crowded/Comfortable
Center Downtown: Yes/No
Downtown Style: Clustered/Sprawling
Max Lot Size: 2-9
Street Spacing: 2-9
Alley Spacing: None/Tight/Normal/Broad
Scale: Tiny/Small/Medium/Large
Hatching Style: Normal/Contrast

I believe gen-art gives the artist a unique opportunity to use animation. Not explicitly in the final product perhaps, but to show the image coming to life. It was important to me to display the city being drawn structure by structure, and I consider it integral to this project in particular, as there is a certain mesmerizing aspect to watching the empty city come to be.

Hopefully, you can always find something new.

Made with: p5.js

License: When You're Alone © 2024 by 6ixty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/