In January of 2024 I began using an A3 pen plotter to plot digital designs into physical art. A plotter opens up many possibilities, but I began by following the manufacturer’s advice: converting images into drawn artwork. This post shows some of the early drawings I made with the plotter.
I was drawn to plotters because they offer a fascinating intersection between the physical and digital worlds. They also appeared to enable a quick and precise route to realising artistic ideas. Despite plotting machines’ existence since the 1970s, they still seemed a relatively novel and underexplored technology for art. The first drawing I did with the plotter was of my late father. The drawing style suggested some of his charisma. The outcome of this first effort remains one of my favourite pieces made with the plotter.
In the proceeding months, I experimented with photographic plotted reproductions. I switched between various pens and drawing styles, settling on biro.
Pope Francis, in full puffer mode, was drawn using three tones of biro. Since this image was patently generated by AI, I saw no issue with repurposing it.
The first drawings I made relied on transforming photographs into plots. I used three separate images in the drawing below to create a tryptic on one piece of paper.
In addition to some more abstract pieces, I made many drawings of photos I’d taken in domestic settings, of the local scenery, or simple portraits.
I’ve now moved on from following the manufacturer’s directions, instead preferring to use acrylic paint. These pieces are not atypical, but they are still important to share in tracking a trajectory.