u/265design

Some months are a lesson on how creativity ebbs and flows. In the midst of transitioning to new software and workflow, I had hit a wall this month. The work I was producing felt flat and uninspired. To combat that I went digging through the archives, pulling files from years ago. It helped me realize that there were many avenues I left unexplored and they remain there waiting to be discovered.

The first print was from a file from my very first Patreon set, over 6 years ago. It was one of the first times I let go of precision to let the media lean into its unpredictability. The shape in the second print I've played around with for years, I go back to it because it has always invoked a feeling of comfort and safety within me. The third print was from when I was really into dots, I love working with them and the halftones they produce but this print made me remember how incredibly long they take to plot. The last print was a quick exercise inspired by wood type printing about creating solids and layering.

Studio assistant in last pic, because nobody works alone.

Here's the fire at the Daly City substation

Here are the 50 prints heading out to my subscribers this month together in one animation, running forward and back. I slowly increased the offset spacing of each color by .01" in a staggered rhythm to create the effect. Had no idea how it would look strung together and pleased with how it flows. I do need to improve my photography and stitching process but lots learned from these.

Music credit: 'We Invent You' Unwound

Finally making some headway into learning Rhino and Grasshopper. I really wish I made the switch from AutoCAD earlier. Still just learning the basics but can already see the potential. Controlling parameters with sliders allows for generating multiple variations of a file in short time. Really fun stuff.

Scaling up a file doesn't always work well but I had success with this one. This was a straight 2X scaling for the original 5"x7" plot to 11"x15" and a 3.4X to get to the 18"x24" size. Each time I scaled I copied and slightly offset the lines to make them 'thicker'. Tempted to go one more size larger to 22"x30" (the max paper size easily available).

All plots done with Bic Xtrabold Cristal pens

Print set from some of my favorite recent files as I start switching my workflow over to Rhino. It's been a blast and I'm fired up to plot after a recent bout of block. Found the most success recently with wrapping 2D lines over solid surfaces and then plotting projected views. Once you pass a certain density of lines and saturation of ink with these bold Bic ballpoints, the paper and ink start to interact in such great unpredictable ways. I'm actually a big fan of the blobs that you get when you much ink builds up on the tip of the pen.

I'm in the midst of transitioning from AutoCAD to Rhino. The more I get into Rhino (and Grasshopper!) the more I wish I had made the transition years ago. Just getting started but already finding new and rewarding work flows. In these quick test pieces I'm wrapping a solid 3D surfaces with some 2D line work and project the results to a flat plane to plot. So many exciting things I can't wait to get into.

I'm sure I'm not alone in having an ever growing stack of extra or test plots. While thumbing through some old work looking for some inspiration I decided to cut and splice some pieces to play around with combining different textures and tones. 1 week later I had a collection of 52 pieces.

Apologies if this no longer qualifies as /PlotterArt anymore 😄

A longtime subscriber messaged me that I always post pics right when I send my prints out and it ruins the surprise. It was a good point I never thought of. From now on I'll wait a few days, hope it's enough 🙂.

This month was a return to silk screening and layering. A multi-color moire block is veiled behind a set of vertical white screen printed lines with that application being repeated for the second and third prints. As the layers build the tones simultaneously retreat behind the white lines while combining with the colors below to rise to the front. Also completely unintentional but I have to say these prints are very timely, Happy Pride month!

5"x7"

Fountain pen and screen printing inks on watercolor

Took out my good camera (the one that doesn't text) to record some recent 18"x24" plots and put a few in my shop. Here's a collection of some of the better detail shots.

Mostly gel pens, some fountain pen ink, and a dash of paint.

Was busy yesterday so catching up watching sprint qualifying. For a quick second my brain said, 'Oh look Hello Kitty is in the Haas pit crew'. Maybe then my daughters would actually take an interest.

https://www.ktvu.com/news/stabbing-high-school-graduation-daly-city-under-investigation

Was at Westmoor earlier today for my daughter's graduation. As we were leaving we heard heavy police activity and learn through texts from her friends that there was a stabbing on campus. I just can't understand the mentality that leads to such a terrible act on what should be a proud and joyous day for so many families.

Was excited to scale up some of the small spray paint and ink pieces I made last month. I spent hours plotting this one to just rush it at the end and tear my paper taking off the paint mask. I bought this Nichiban low-tack paper tape and it's amazing but you still need to peel it slowly and at a shallow angle. Lesson learned.

18"x24"

Fountain pen ink and spray paint on watercolor paper

May '26 Print Set

Fountain Pens + Rattle Cans

Working with an old file I sculpted some geometric linework forms and paired them up with some complementary color blocks of spray paint. Getting more bold with color and gaining confidence in its use.

Ink and paint on 5"x7" watercolor paper

26.0425.01

I've plotted on wood before but it has been a while. I'm usually focused on what would make a good, repeatable, edition of plots so defer to paper 99% of the time. It's somewhat refreshing to work on a one off surface where you can let the piece just develop. The other good thing about plotting on surfaces other than paper is that saturation isn't an issue. I ran this file 3 times to let the ink build and pool.

House paint and fountain pen ink on maple plywood

20-5/8" x 18-1/2"