Generative Art
Jidouhanbaiki!
Published : 2024, Ledger
Editions : Variable
Medium : Code / Generative (JavaScript + p5.js)
Jidouhanbaiki! is a generative ‘vending machine portrait’ maker designed for display on the Ledger Stax device. Inspired by Japan's many street vending machines, each output makes use of the shape and form of the ‘Stax’ device, pairing the Stax’s monochrome e-ink edition with a full-color on-screen counterpart, bridging the gap between the digital and the physical.
Selected Outputs
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Edition #124
Edition #512
Edition #242
Edition #450
Edition #241
Edition #240
Edition #425
Edition #157
Edition #195
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Perpendicular Inhabitation was created with p5.js, a popular graphics library for the JavaScript programming language. Although the final outputs appear three-dimensional, they are actually created on an underlying two-dimensional grid where the building blocks of the building's shapes are constructed by carefully choreographing the direction and order in which these shapes are drawn (as p5.js draws from back to front). The illusion of complex cityscapes can be made possible as such buildings are drawn from right to left and from the top downwards, which is somewhat counter-intuitive to the way buildings are usually constructed. Various facades are created using repetitions of vertical lines, grids of dots, and a variety of geometries and shapes.
The collection’s outputs generated with three types of color treatments:
The first is a natural palette based on the artwork of illustrators such as Hiroshi Nagai and Eizin Suzuki, generating outputs with a somewhat vibrant yet nostalgic and optimistic tones.
The second color treatment randomly assigns a color to individual elements from a selected palette. Whilst the results are somewhat more psychedelic, the variation of colors bring the complexity of the outputs to the forefront.
Process & Development
Initial concept sketch
Early code sketch
Early code sketch
First mock-up illustrating the concept and how the vending machines might look on the finished devices.
Concept development
Early 'Stax' device-sized outputs for testing
Early 'Stax' device-sized outputs for testing.
Development sketch refining the appearance of the bottles and cans, adding a subtle highlight along the sides to add a sense of depth.
Development sketch refining the appearance of the bottles and cans, adding a subtle highlight along the sides to add a sense of depth.
Concept sketch for crates, AC units, foliage etc.
Concept sketche for canopies, bus stop seats (unused), plants etc.
Exploring how much white space to place around the edges of outputs
Code tests for urban gardens and plant pots
Code tests for urban gardens and plant pots
Quiet Details
The invisible underlying grid that governs the generation of each output of the output's elements are roughly of the same proportion as the grids in Sabler.
The collection’s palettes are named after popular City Pop artists.
In some outputs, the tail of a kaiju is visible.
Palettes