A series of tubes by James Merrill

A series of tubes is a generative algorithm that creates a series of twists and turns with lines. Various pen colors are used during plotting to show the ordering and swapping of individual segments. The algorithm responsible for A Series Of Tubes is over 4,000 lines of Javascript long. Each unique twist, shape, or bit of geometry was painstakingly made with code in a modular fashion so that it could support a variable number of pen colors. I challenged myself to write a plotter specific algorithm that really highlighted fine tipped pens. I also took inspiration from “Wimmelbilders”, which is a style of drawing that seeks to cram in insane amounts of detail into a single image. Each plot takes around 5-6 hours to be drawn. Pens must be swapped out many times, and their alignment has to be exact otherwise the drawing is ruined. 233 Supply, enjoy the art for free.