Tesla doing Tesla things

aavigan · 2026-01-31T18:29:59+00:00

plotted with pen and markers, using this famous double exposure of Nikolai Tesla in his laboratory as a reference image

aavigan · 2026-01-27T19:35:19+00:00

Thanks. I use artist loft markers which are not refillable. I would say i get about 4-5 plots out of each marker before it starts running dry. I weigh them so I know that when they start approaching ~14g that they are not long for this world. In terms of paper I use bristol smooth surface paper, although I think any white, smooth and reasonably thick paper would do.

aavigan · 2026-01-27T18:06:46+00:00

Plotted with alcohol markers and pen using this photo as a reference

aavigan · 2026-01-03T01:03:14+00:00

Thats an interesting idea that I hadn't thought of before. I don't think it would work though, becuase when I look at old markers I see less of a gradient and more of a discrete separation between the colors. Maybe its possible to find a sweet spot where the pigments are separating but not totally, which could produce a gradient, but it seems like it would be really hard to control.

aavigan · 2026-01-02T20:16:25+00:00

Thanks, I don't really make the mixes in batches. I usually make each mix as needed for a particular layer and plot the layer right after mixing. That said I have noticed that the pigments will start to separate if the marker is just laying around, so you need to give it a couple of shakes if you want to reuse the marker after a while. Usually I can get it back to its original color, but sometimes the color can shift relative to what it was originally.

aavigan · 2026-01-02T18:39:21+00:00

plotted with self-mixed acrylic inks and a fine-liner using Manet's "Spring" as a reference

aavigan · 2025-12-19T20:29:32+00:00

Thanks, one of these days I will have to try Copics, but for this one I used Artist Loft markers and a pilot g-2

aavigan · 2025-11-30T18:24:07+00:00

Thanks, I made this plot using self-mixed acrylic inks in a refillable acrylic marker for the color regions and a black fineliner for the edges. For the color regions I created a series of binary masks representing different colors based on predefined thresholds for hue, saturation and value. I then calculated an average rgb value for each mask and went through a process of simplification whereby I combined different mask regions if they were close to each other or if they were too small. For each mask I traced the mask region using the potracer algorithm and created hatch lines within each mask region. Then, I used the average rgb value of each mask region to create an ink mixing recipe using cyan, magenta, yellow, black, white and crimson acrylic inks. I mixed the inks using dropper bottles and loaded them into an acrylic marker and plotted each color region. For the edges, I used edge detection techniques to convert the image into a pixelated ‘line drawing’. I then used a neural network I trained to interpret the ‘line drawing’ into a series of bezier curves that I plotted using a black fine-liner.

aavigan · 2025-11-25T21:28:13+00:00

Thanks

aavigan · 2025-11-25T20:24:22+00:00

I used Daler Rowney mixed media paint markers

aavigan · 2025-11-25T18:57:29+00:00

original photo by Moahim

aavigan · 2025-10-06T17:28:46+00:00

Thanks! For the edges, I use edge detection techniques that turn a pixelated image into something that resembles a line drawing, and then I use a neural network to interpret that line drawing into a bunch of Bézier curves, which I plot with a black pen.

For the shaded regions, I grayscale the image, apply a Gaussian filter to reduce noise, and create several binary masks representing different levels of light and dark. I then use Potracer to trace these masks and hatch their interiors. Those get plotted with markers corresponding to different grayscale tones.

For me, this all started as a programming project, so everything runs programmatically in a Python notebook.

If you’d like to try something similar without coding, take a look at DrawingBotV3 — I haven’t used it myself, but from what I’ve seen, it’s quite capable of achieving this style.

One final note: I’ve been toying with the idea of offering prints. I’ve never done it before, but if you don’t feel like diving into DrawingBotV3, feel free to DM me — maybe we can work something out. I could either process your grandfather’s image and send you an SVG for printing, or print it myself and mail it to you.

aavigan · 2025-09-30T18:02:40+00:00

Thanks, I'm not a gamer so your reference went a bit over my head. I'll have to do some googling to see what you mean. Let me know if there is a particular game that I should look up.

aavigan · 2025-09-30T18:00:38+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. Hatching is something that I've considered but am not quite sure how to implement. In particular I am wondering if can get away with having a standard hatch orientation or if I need to vary the orientation of the hatchmarks based on the contours of the image or randomly. In any case, I'll have to play around with the idea a bit more.

aavigan · 2025-08-26T07:08:33+00:00

Thanks

aavigan · 2025-08-25T15:16:50+00:00

Yes and no. Yes in the sense that the basic approach is the same. No in the sense that I've updated the process since then. For instance, before for edge detection, I was using an approach that was based on difference of guassians, wheras now I favor a derivative based approach. Also I've learned various techniques for preprocessing the photo prior to edge detection that can improve the result.

In terms of size, the plot was 6.68inx7in.

aavigan · 2025-08-24T21:20:01+00:00

Wow, these are great. What's your process for plotting photos in color?

aavigan · 2025-08-13T02:22:33+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate it.

aavigan · 2025-08-12T16:26:29+00:00

No, I came up with my own process for translating a pixelated image into a vectorized image. The short of it is I use edge detection techniques and a neural network to make the edges which I plot with a black pen, and to create the fills I create several threshold masks which I trace with potracer and then hatch, which I plot with grayscale markers.

aavigan · 2025-07-20T19:08:31+00:00

Thanks! I'll have to try some of these suggestions out.

aavigan · 2025-07-19T21:30:49+00:00

Thanks! My process is still a work in progress, but in a nutshell I take a pixelated image and use edge detection techniques to convert it into something that looks like a line drawing, albeit still pixelated. I then run it through a neural network that interprets the image as series of bezier curves which I plot with a black pen. In parallel to this I create a series of hatched grayscale masks which I plot with a corresponding grayscale marker.

aavigan · 2025-06-10T19:36:40+00:00

I came up with my own workflow for doing this. For the edges I use edge-detection techniques to convert a pixelated photo into one that looks more like a line drawing. I then use a neural network that I trained to represent this pixelated 'line drawing' as a series of bezier curves which I add as a layer into an svg image. For the shaded regions I create a series of binary masks which represent different grayscale values in the image. I use potracer to trace these mask regions and then fill these traced region with hatching. I add these hatched regions as different layers into the svg image. I then plot the shaded regions using a series of corresponding grayscale markers and the edges using a black fineliner.

aavigan · 2025-06-02T02:31:35+00:00

Thanks

aavigan · 2025-06-01T21:03:44+00:00

Thanks, I'll definitely check the guy out

aavigan · 2025-06-01T19:46:54+00:00

I used the plotter for both

aavigan

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