Generative Art with the LogoTurtle

The LogoTurtle is a programmable turtle that can draw. I like running simple programs with small aspects of randomness because the resulting drawings are always a surprise, and often beautiful. When randomness is part of a program the robot will draw a different composition every time, but it's also fun to look at several drawings resulting from the same program and see the similarities. The robot is enacting controlled chaos, and both the controlled parameters and the chaos within those limits can be seen after several runs. I also like how the robot is a kind of partner in creativity as it makes its own decisions within the framework it's been given.

There are many approaches to making generative art. One that I've been taking with the LogoTurtle is what I think of as exploding shapes. Take a drawing of squares. Now if the side lengths suddenly refused to behave and stretched to any length they wanted to (within reason of course), you would get an interesting overlapping of shapes that reminds you of squares and rectangles but has more going on.

First version with random line lengths

Second version, so different!

Third version

to startup
pd wait 1000
repeat 20 [
fd random 20 150
rt 90
]
pu
alloff
end

Take the same idea, exploding shapes, and apply it to triangles for a different result, this time all about the wonderful triangle.


Shapes with more sides can generate nice compositions, too. Here's an exploded octagon.

to startup
pd wait 1000
repeat 25 [
fd random 20 150
rt 360 / 8
]
pu
alloff
end
And circles! To make it more interesting I let the robot choose how many degrees to turn and the radius of each circle.

to startup
pd wait 1000
repeat 20 [
arcrt random 90 360 random 10 50
arclt random 90 360 random 10 50
]
pu
alloff
end
So making generative art with the LogoTurtle can be a very simple adventure that yields endlessly complex and interesting results.