Ken Knowlton-Inspired Photomosaic Effects in TouchDesigner

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Ken Knowlton was a computer graphics pioneer and artist known for his experiments with computer-produced photomosaics and animated films starting in the 1960s.

Working at Bell Labs in the early 60s, Knowlton was interested in exploring the computer’s use for making images and film. This experimentation led to the development of BEFLIX, arguably the first programming language for bitmap computer-produced movies. Besides creating many artworks of his own, he also collaborated with Lillian Schwartz (who we recently featured in our artist series:    • Lillian F. Schwartz-Inspired Visual F...  ) and others.

In this video, Jack DiLaura (@jackdilaura) walks you through creating a photomosaic visual effect in the style of Ken Knowlton’s pioneering artworks in TouchDesigner. You’ll utilize instancing, 2D texture arrays and image processing to achieve the effect. Unlike the original images, the photomosaic effect can be used on video/camera input as well as static images.

Ken Knowlton’s Mosaic Artwork: http://www.knowltonmosaics.com/

Ken Knowlton’s Website: http://www.kenknowlton.com/

Chapters:
00:00:00 - Ken Knowlton and his Artwork
00:05:12 - Configuring the Render Output and Camera
00:08:06 - Modifying the Texture
00:10:35 - Adjustments for a Sharper Output
00:13:02 - Setting up the Null Text Cord Operator
00:15:37 - Creating Large Scale Math Symbols
00:18:09 - Creating a texture array with different sets of characters
00:20:39 - Mapping Grayscale Levels to Typographic Symbols
00:22:14 - More TouchDesigner and Immersive Content