Waikiki Beach1

This started with a video pan converted into a static panorama image via the Studio Artist temporal scan tracker. I then repainted it as a photo mosaic using the paint synthesizer and a Waikiki movie brush. Some additional sketching was added on top of the photo mosaic via min compositing.

Waikiki Alleyway

I'm starting a new series all generated from video sequences shot in Waikiki. This was generated from Flip video taken while walking down an alleyway. Processed via the Studio Artist temporal scan tracker and then Vectorized.

K-Town Street Shot

Another video panorama created by processing video footage with the Studio Artist temporal scan tracker. A touch of vectorizer processing added in a second layer.

My Life and Takeout

More candid shots while waiting for take out food. This started with a Flip video camera pan, followed by the Studio Artist temporal scan tracker to create a static panorama image from the video pan. I then used a graffiti brush in the paint synthesizer to render the panorama as a photo mosaic image.

Pixel Indexed Movies as Photo Mosaics

I have to admit i hadn't really done much with movie pixel indexed background textures for creating photo mosaic style paint effects. The feature was originally added to Studio Artist to facilitate generating pixel accurate hatch and shading effects based off of the movie background texture. But i've been playing with it recently and really loving it. You can use it to get a much more representational photo mosaic effect.

This was created using a graffiti movie brush loaded into the movie pixel indexed background texture. You can use this as a source for image processing brush load followed by a colorization algorithm, the 'Paint Color Hue Sat Set' algorithm option in this particular case. The brush load algorithm helps to colorize the movie frames to better match the source image.

I guess it just shows that even for me there are endless surprises awaiting in the depths of Studio Artist.

More Paint Abstractions

More abstract paintings created with the putty knife spreading wet ink simulator in the Studio Artist paint synthesizer. The preset itself is pretty interesting because it uses a Thread 2 path randomizer to generate a virtual linear brush. The Paint Brush Load modeule is used to feed the existing canvas image back into itself with some local scaling that generates a wet fractal field as the spreading moves over the canvas.

Stack Filtering a Bowl of Fruit

I tried some experiments recently stack filtering a folder of images of still life cliche bowls of fruit. Stack Filtering refers to using a temporal image operation on a stack of images (as opposed to sequential movie frames). Most of the experiments looked pretty bad to be honest, but i did come up with one approach that generated some interesting output. These start off with using the Cellular Abstraction Ip Op in Studio Artist with a bowl of fruit in the canvas and modulation set to 150%. You then use the cell abstracted canvas image to temporally warp a stack of fruit bowl images.

Paint Synth Abstraction

I've been playing around with some new Studio Artist paint synthesizer presets that do a great job of really abstracting a representational source image. These were generated using a single paint synth preset that simulates a large palette knife spreading a thin film of liquid ink on the canvas. The preset also uses the new stylize path shape effects in Studio Artist version 4.

Another Harbor Panorama

Another video panorama from Honolulu harbor. As always, these start with a video pan using a Flip camera. The video pan is then converted into a static panorama image via the Studio Artist temporal scan tracker. I then used the block abstraction i op followed by the flat region colorize ip op to generate the triangular patterning in the final image.

Night Shot

This started with a video sequence taken through a car window while waiting at a traffic light. The video sequence was then processed with the Studio Artist temporal difference matte, which is a time based effect that extracts motion from multiple frames to generate a single photo that encapsulates the motion over the multiple frames. I always use something like the image compressor ip op to adaptively boost the contrast before saving the final effected image.

Harbor Panorama

This started with a video pan using a Flip video camera. That was then converted into a static panorama image using the Studio Artist temporal scan tracker. I then used a movie brush in the paint synthesizer to rerender the panorama as a photo mosaic to add additional texture in a second layer, and then composited the 2 layers to get the final result.

Abstract Sketch Animation

This is a frame from an abstract animation i was working on today. It uses 2 custom MSG presets to generate the sketch effect, which is then colorized via the Colorize ip op to bring in the original face color.

I'm using overdrawing on the previous frame to generate the dynamic feathering effect that falls off of the sketch outlines. You process the previous output frame and then overdraw on top of that to create this kind of effect. It's a typical approach to build temporal continuity and atmosphere in a paint animation.

Lissajous Experiments

I was surprised at how much i liked these. A simple but pretty effective effect. These were created with a single Lissojous MSG processor in Studio Artist.

MSG Source Abstraction

This was created with a fairly simple MSG preset. It's processing a source image, so it's an image processing effect as opposed to a generative procedural abstraction.

MSG Procedural Abstraction

This was created via directed evolution of MSG processors in the Studio Artist Evolution Editor.

Live Video Processing

I've been playing around testing some live video processing with MSG processors in Studio Artist 4. This was generated using a built in iSight camera running live video through a MSG preset.

Local QuickStop Grocery

Video shot of the local grocery store converted into a panorama via the Studio Artist temporal scan tracker. I then mangled the image a little and then re-rendered it with a photo mosaic paint synthesizer preset for some additional local texture.

Twisted Lissajous

I added a new Lissajous MSG processor this morning to Studio Artist.


It seemed like an obvious visual generator that was missing from the MSG toolkit. Sometimes very simple algorithmic ideas can still lead to really interesting pattern formation.

K Street1

This started with some Flip video shot out the side window while driving in a car. That was then converted into a panorama image using the Studio Artist temporal scan tracker. I then rendered that panorama source image using a movie brush generated from an International Marketplace photo database which is filled with lots of local kitsch imagery. The International Marketplace is probably the most entertaining thing in Waikiki and sadly will be torn down soon to make way for more Gucci stores.

Danger, Danger

I started with an image lifted from the campaign trail, then used the biohazard movie brush in the paint synthesizer to create a photo mosaic layer using the adaptive diamond patterning. A second layer was built using the Studio Artist vectorizer.

The Temple of Facial Symmetry

More investigations into face perception. These start with a front view facial image and are then symmetry transformed via MSG processing. You get facial popout as well as symmetry popout in the visual cortex. There are specific areas of the visual cortex that detect both facial features and visual symmetry, which is probably why both are very powerful tools to use in constructing images that catch the eye.

Facial Abstraction Revisited

An inverse approach to investigating the brain's ability to perceive facial structure. This series started with real face images that were then distorted and abstracted using MSG processing. As opposed to building abstract geometry that looks like a face as seen in some previous posts. These were all done while fine tuning the new evolution toolbar controls in the Studio Artist evolution editor.


It's interesting to see when the visual systems face detection fades as the abstraction process increases. I've been investigating computer vision algorithms for face detection recently so you can see the correlation to certain simple geometric features vanishing and facial popup vanishing as well.

Will Call

This started with a pan shot taken with a Flip video camera. That was turned into a panorama image using the Studio Artist temporal scan tracker. I then used that as a source image for a paint synthesizer graffiti brush.

More Facial Abstractions

Some more abstract imagery that tricks your brain into thinking you see a face. Generated using the new evolution toolbar control in the Studio Artist evolution editor with MSG processors.

Facial Abstraction

I've been playing around with MSG and the notion of facial abstraction. The visual system has a remarkable ability to detect facial images, even when there aren't any in the case of these cartoony random shape structures. The images were created via directed evolution using the new toolbar controls in the Studio Artist evolution editor.

Rainy Night

This was taken while driving in search of take out food. My usual Flip video camera pan processed with the Studio Artist temporal scan tracker into a panorama.

Fork Lift

This was taken using a Flip video camera in a warehouse near Honolulu harbor. After processing the source video with the temporal scan tracker into a single panorama image i then vectorized the panorama to create the final image.

Harbor Scan

This started with a Flip video camera pan in Honolulu harbor. I rendered the panorama using the Studio Artist temporal scan tracker with the controls setup to get a mild stutter effect going. I then used another piece of video taken in a warehouse at this location and used that as a movie brush in the paint synthesizer to generate a photo mosaic image off of the panorama source in a second layer.

More Winehouse Meditations

These were all done with the same source image used in the last post. They all started from a single MSG preset that i evolved over time via directed evolution. Somewhat similar in appearance to the earlier politk mask series. All of these were created in Studio Artist 4 with MSG.

Amy Winehouse's $46K bill for vomiting

More from the Winehouse series. Troubled singer Amy Winehouse has been hit with a $46,250 bill after reportedly vomiting on clothes loaned to her by a designer. Started with a MSG source processing preset, followed by vectorizing the MSG preset output.

More Mobius Maps

I've been adding some additional incremental features to the new mobius map MSG processor. These examples use 2 of the new MSG processors driving a modulatable dual color gradient mapping processor.