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16 Comments
I don't know if I voted on the original, but this version has my 10.
Not just any computer, though: the Meek FM. Or some other superset of FontStruct. Or otherwise, yes.
The interesting and timeless challenge I see peeking through the gaskets is how to maintain pristine LOD across an entire range of sizes, from the biggest to the smallest. This is nothing new, of course, but with a tangentially tasty fractal twist.
I've seen the videos on Meek FM on Vimeo, and more. The synthesizer captured my imagination too. Endless possibilities, and the hardware is not even necessary. But I wondered if we've got this magic wand for generating new fonts, how would it affect the creative process. Would it be detrimental to creativity, since one can generate almost perfect fonts by pushing some buttons or turning some knobs. My answer is yes, and no. To some extent, and for some people it would be the equivalent of ready-made food in culinary terms compared to the haute cuisine of FontLab and other serious tools. But for a small group of clever artists it would be a new instrument to play with, a new challenge to explore the possibilities, to take it to the limits, and hopefully create something new and extraordinary, not possible with traditional tools.
To the second point. Yes, I could have challenged the Font Mortar again, but I chose not to. The original version was one degree higher in detail, and consequently much larger. After a few glyphs I've abandoned that, and started a smaller, but fully functional version.
What you suggest, to generate detail on-the-fly, whenever necessary for a larger print out or hi-res display has far reaching implications. One that springs to my mind is the definition of font as a software, a set of instructions and a collection of data of vector shapes and other things. (This notion has its roots in US. copyright law, which does not cover fonts as creative artworks, and companies sought other ways of protection for their precious font collections.) In this case of fractal fonts, however, this definition could have a real meaning. I don't know the technical details, but some fonts, especially handwriting fonts, have a sophisticated code in the background, e.g.: regulating the selection of ligatures as you type. So I don't see next to impossible having a code which generates new iterations as you increase the point size.
@minimum: Simple to complex: one example is the theory of evolution, which explains in great detail the development from simple prokaryote organisms (e.g. bacteria) to multicellular eukaryotes, such as the emperor penguin, the polar bear or the lebanon cedar. Chaos theory and fractals are also good examples. When you have an initial state (data) and set a few simple rules (algebraic functions), your system quickly descends into complex (chaotic) behavior. When visualized with simple black and white pixels, it produces a multitude of diverse and complex patterns (see more on this topic in the following books: A New Kind of Science; Cellular Automata and Complexity, both by Stephen Wolfram; or find some pictures of cellular automata patterns on the web).
Complex to simple: Again, fractal patterns and chaos, where you can reduce the complex pattern or behavior to a few simple equations. My other example is from modern physics: the theory of everything (TOE), and in particular the string theory. It is a major attempt to reconcile quantum mechanics with general relativity. Without going into the details, and I don't pretend to understand any of the mindbogglingly complex math behind it, the string theory tries to describe all the fundamental forces (gravity, electromagnetic force, weak and strong forces), and matter (elementary particles, leptons) in a coherent mathematical system. That is the ultimate challenge of physics, the holy grail of science, to reduce the vast complexity of the universe to a few pages of mathematical formulas and equations.
Now I think you are a master of patience and a certain type of 'tesselation'. This looks so impressive. I hadnot seen it before. I am happy to add admiration 10-10 to your score.
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