Moving In A New Direction

Combining Data Science And Art

As a programmer and data scientist, I have always been fascinated by the intersection of technology and creativity. In recent years, I have been exploring how I can combine my programming and data science skills with my passion for art and design. I've discovered that there are so many new tools and technologies that are opening up new doors for creative expression, allowing me to approach art and design in a whole new way.

In this blog post, I want to share my experience and encourage others to also explore new mediums and tools in their creative pursuits. Whether you are an artist, a musician, a writer, or someone who simply enjoys creating, there are so many exciting new tools available that can help you to approach your craft in a fresh and innovative way. So let's dive in and explore the possibilities!

Combining programming and data science with creative fields can yield a wide range of benefits. For one, incorporating these disciplines can lead to new forms of expression that were not possible before. By leveraging the power of technology, artists and designers can create interactive and dynamic works that respond to user input or environmental factors, for example. This can create a more engaging and immersive experience for viewers, and can help to push the boundaries of traditional art and design.

In addition to enabling new forms of expression, programming and data science can also be used to analyze and understand the creative process itself. By collecting and analyzing data on how users interact with a particular artwork or design, for instance, artists and designers can gain new insights into what works and what doesn't. This can lead to a more informed and evidence-based approach to the creative process, which can ultimately result in more successful and impactful works.

Another benefit of combining programming and data science with creative fields is the potential for collaboration between artists, designers, and technologists. When people from different backgrounds and disciplines come together to work on a project, they bring unique perspectives and approaches that can lead to more innovative and creative outcomes. By working together, artists and designers can leverage the technical expertise of programmers and data scientists, while programmers and data scientists can benefit from the artistic vision and creativity of their collaborators.

Overall, the benefits of combining programming and data science with creative fields are vast and varied. Whether it's enabling new forms of expression, providing insights into the creative process, or fostering collaboration between different disciplines, incorporating programming and data science into creative work can lead to exciting and unexpected outcomes.

Tools of the Trade

There are tons of cool tools and technologies out there that can help artists and designers bring programming and data science into their creative work. One of our favorites is generative art software, which lets you create all sorts of crazy shapes, colors, and patterns by programming algorithms. It's perfect if you want to experiment with randomness or create interactive works that respond to user input.

Another fun tool to try is data visualization software. With these tools, you can take complex data sets - like social media trends or scientific data - and turn them into beautiful, easy-to-understand visuals. It's a great way to make data more accessible and engaging for a wider audience.

If you're interested in exploring the intersection of programming and creativity even further, you might want to check out machine learning algorithms. These powerful tools can help you create music that responds to user input, or generate images and animations based on a set of parameters. It's a really exciting way to incorporate machine intelligence into your creative process and create works that are both dynamic and interactive.

And finally, don't forget about the awesome communities and platforms that are out there! For example, the Processing community is a super popular platform for artists and designers who are into interactive and generative art. Or you might want to check out the AI Art Lab, which is all about exploring the possibilities of machine learning in creative fields. These communities are a great way to connect with other people who are interested in the same things, share your work, and learn about new tools and techniques for combining programming and data science with creativity.

Generative art software is a super fun and creative way to incorporate programming and data science into your artwork. It allows you to create unique and dynamic works that respond to user input or other environmental factors. Some of the most popular examples of generative art software include Processing, openFrameworks, and p5.js.

Processing is a powerful and flexible programming language that's specifically designed for artists and designers. It allows you to create complex animations and interactive installations by writing code that generates shapes, colors, and patterns. One of the coolest things about Processing is that it has a huge community of users who are constantly sharing their work and creating new libraries and tools.

openFrameworks is another popular tool for generative art. It's an open-source C++ toolkit that's designed for creative coding and multimedia projects. With openFrameworks, you can create interactive installations, audio-visual performances, and even games. It's a great tool for artists and designers who want to experiment with cutting-edge technologies and push the boundaries of what's possible.

Finally, there's p5.js, which is a JavaScript library that's based on Processing. It allows you to create interactive and dynamic graphics that can be embedded in web pages or other digital projects. One of the great things about p5.js is that it's very beginner-friendly, so even if you're not a programming expert, you can still create some really cool and unique works.

Overall, generative art software is a really exciting way to bring programming and data science into your creative work. It allows you to create works that are both dynamic and interactive, and that push the boundaries of traditional art and design. So if you're looking to try something new and innovative, generative art is definitely worth exploring!

Some Options

• Cinder: Cinder is a C++ library that's designed for creative coding and multimedia projects. It includes a wide range of tools and functions that make it easy to create generative art and other interactive works. Cinder is particularly popular for creating installations and performances that incorporate video and audio.

• Max/MSP: Max/MSP is a visual programming language that's designed for music and multimedia applications. With Max/MSP, you can create interactive audio-visual installations, performances, and other multimedia projects. It's a great tool for artists and designers who want to explore the intersection of sound, image, and interactivity.

• TouchDesigner: TouchDesigner is a powerful and versatile tool for creating interactive and generative art. It includes a wide range of features and functions that make it easy to create complex installations and performances that respond to user input and other environmental factors. TouchDesigner is particularly popular for creating real-time graphics and visual effects.

• Isadora: Isadora is a visual programming environment that's designed for multimedia performance and interactive installations. It includes a wide range of tools and functions for creating generative art, interactive installations, and other multimedia projects. Isadora is particularly popular for creating immersive and interactive experiences that incorporate video, audio, and other media.

Overall, there are tons of cool tools and technologies available for creating generative art and other dynamic and interactive works. By exploring these tools and experimenting with different approaches, artists and designers can create works that are truly unique and innovative.

Interview with Teo Acosta

Seattle Artist Interviews Part I

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As promised, I was able to meet up with Teo Acosta at the Twilight Exit, a great little bar here in the Central District.  The original ideas was to have a do some photos and a video interview, but due to less than ideal filming conditions we opted for photos and a text interview.

Teo Acosta is a comic artist and animator based out of Seattle, WA and we met through mutual friends and a love for metal. We really hit it off and I have admired his work for sometime so naturally I approached him when I decided to move forward with this project to showcase local artists here in the Seattle area and he was kind enough to help out by lending some of his time.

Arriving at the Twilight Exist on a Sunday afternoon, we sidled up to to the bar and ordered drinks before retreating to a Pac-Man table (an appropriate choice given our love for games) for the interview.

Teo takes a quick sip from his beer and gathers himself.  We make small talk and the conversation flows naturally before transitioning to the interview questions.

Dave: What’s integral to the work of an artist?

Teo: Work ethic haha. I think in some ways creativity is a muscle. If you practice it all the time, it slowly becomes easier and you become stronger.

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Dave: What role does the artist have in society?

Teo: I think artists' role in society is to act as a mirror. A lot of my work is based off my own personal experiences, and trials of my life. In literature and sequential art we have a real opportunity to explore and share moments of our lives with someone who may not have either had the good or bad luck of experiencing it.

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Dave: What art do you most identify with?

Teo: I have always been a fan of Goya, and Picasso. But art came to me in a really nerdy fashion. I was at a yard sale when I was about 8, and I found an original advanced dungeons & dragons monster manual from the 80s, and I became obsessed with all the monster art within that ancient tome. Frazetta is incredibly important to me, his work is just so bad ass in theme and execution. In sequential art, Will Eisner will always be king. His work is so important, and he really turned sequential art into an art form.

Dave: Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?

Teo: I've been battling depression and anxiety my whole life. It's a major theme in my illustrations and comic work. To be very specific, there was this woman I had fallen in love with and there were some things keeping us apart. In one of my comics, a character falls into a deep depression from a similar event and ends up not leaving his home for several days rotating through different band shirts. So yeah, that happened haha.

Dave: What do you dislike about the art world?

Teo: I feel like its getting better, but I'm always really frustrated by the lack of attention sequential art and animation get. They both an insanely difficult medium to work in and make something that is worth seeing.

Dave: What research to you do?

Teo: I'm constantly watching movies and analyzing how they are telling the story, and framing shots. I also try to visit galleries as much as possible to see what other people are doing. I'm also kind of addicted to reading art books. Luckily the library in Seattle is amazing.

Dave: What is your dream project?

Teo: I would love to be the Creative Director or Show Runner for an animated series. In this dream world I'd also have complete creative control, and probably release it in a digital format as opposed to being on TV.

Dave: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Teo: No matter what your dream job is, you will have an opportunity to be in front of the right people at the right time. You need to be ready for that day now. Also, if you want to do some thing, start doing it now. Even if its terrible, you'll get better at it over time.

To see more of Teo's work, please visit HTTP://teoacosta.tumblr.com.  You can also find him on facebook at Art of Teo Acosta (https://www.facebook.com/artofteo/) and at Twitter (@teo_acosta).  It was a pleasure to get a peek inside of Teo's mind and what drives him and I hope to continue this series on Seattle artists on a weekly basis.

Gradient Mapping

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The Last couple weeks have been keeping me busy.  I have been getting everything set up to function while being self employed, picking up some photo and web design projects, but I am still trying to set time aside as well to hone my craft.

I was just visiting Phlearn.com for the first time in a month or so to go through some of Aaron Nace's tutorials.  If you haven't heard of Phlearn.com, it is one of the best Photoshop learning sites around that you can get for free.  He also has some great pro tutorials that you can go through at a pretty affordable rate.

One of the lessons that stuck out to me was one on gradient mapping which is something that I have not played around with too much with in Phototshop so I decided to give it a try.  The end result is what I have attached above.

I started with a photo that I had taken about a month ago from a concert where the performer was wearing an anime inspired mask.  Initially, I was playing around with some more metallic colors and found one with whites and silvers that really stuck me, but I wanted to make some adjustments.  I introduced some blues into the gradient and was really pleased with the colors that were coming out.  The image was still really noisy from the processing and just didn't feel right, so I grabbed the blur tool and started painting with it to even out the image and give the impression of motion to the (water) hair while still trying to keep the overall detail to the image.

I ended with brushing in a bit more color and doing some more toning.  I am pretty pleased with my first attempt but I definitely want to tray this again and maybe even revisit this to do some painting with the image to see what else I can do with it.  I regret not recording this one but will have to next time around so I can share the process with you.  What are some of your favorite experiments that have turned out well in your favor? 

Art, All Day Every Day

I had told myself that I would wait longer, just a little more gear, just a little more in my portfolio, until I left the job that was sucking the life out of me to join the ranks of those who pursued art as their main career full time.  But, as the conditions of my workplace worsened, I found myself having less and less time and energy to make creative things and this was taking a toll on me far worse the prospect of not having as much money as I used to.

I think what really set off my urgency to escape the daily grind, was my father's recent death.  We all grieve in different ways, but I found myself spending more and more time in reflection of his life and mine and how I was starting the same path that took him to his untimely end.  This is not something I allow to happen to my life as well.

My dad was a very traditional Romanian, coming from a poor family.  He saw that there was opportunity for freedom and new chances in America and so he fought to escape from Communist Romania, enduring harassment and having to go through a hunger strike to do so.  His own brother was shot and killed trying to cross the boarder out and brought to my father's home so he could identify the body.

I imagine, that he too went through a similar epiphany at some point.  That enough was enough and he needed to make a change or die trying.  Every day, I am thankful that he did or I may not have grown up with the opportunities that I did.

These are all aspects of the past that my father did not like talking about.  Whatever happened between then and the time that I came to know him, something had changed in him and he had a new set of priorities.  Hard, practical work and saving money were his primary virtues and in his mind there was no way that one could make a living making art.  This clash of ideologies was the topic of many of our heated arguments.

But as I watched him closely, I observed that the money he had was never enough and he was never really happy.  He would always be looking for another way to make money with many of these plans ending in drastic failures that cost him a hefty sum of money in the long run.  It was almost as if he was trying to fill a void left by a passion that died long ago.  And now, looking back, I think I finally understand what he was going through.

It is just so easy to get addicted to financial security.  The pressure to buy things and to have a "real" job are always present and I found myself falling into the same trap.  Thankfully for me though, my passion was not dead.  It was always there tugging and nagging at me to create more, if only I had any energy after being mentally drained from the stress of my job.

And so here I am, at the crossroads, about to part ways with my job and source of endless frustration.  I am both excited and a little nervous about the future that is to come, but I know this is simply what I have to do if I am to keep my passion ( and ultimately, myself) alive. I hope to document this process and encourage anyone who is also sitting on the fence and waiting on their dreams to take action before unfortunate tragedy steals them away from you.