Producing 3D Art with POV-Ray: Spirograph-like Patterns

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    3d Art Patterns
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the creation of 3D art using POV-Ray, specifically focusing on patterns reminiscent of those made with a Spirograph. Participants share their experiences and thoughts on the intersection of mathematics, art, and nostalgia associated with Spirograph designs.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant shares their experience of creating 3D Spirograph-like patterns using POV-Ray, including a link to an image of their work.
  • Another participant expresses enthusiasm for the concept and suggests the possibility of creating 3D representations of atoms, specifically challenging for an iron atom.
  • Several participants reflect on their childhood experiences with Spirographs, noting their fascination with the patterns and questioning whether children still engage with them today.
  • One participant initially expresses confusion about what a Spirograph is but later recalls having one and shares a link to an online Spirograph program.
  • Another participant humorously comments on the condition of their physical Spirograph, indicating a nostalgic connection to the toy.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a nostalgic appreciation for Spirographs and express curiosity about their use in creating 3D art. However, there is no consensus on whether children today still play with Spirographs, as this remains a point of inquiry.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention personal experiences and preferences regarding physical versus digital Spirograph tools, indicating a subjective nature to their enjoyment and engagement with the concept.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in the intersection of art and mathematics, particularly those who enjoy creating visual patterns or have a nostalgic connection to childhood toys like Spirographs.

Janus
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Okay, I'm sure that most of you are familiar with Spirograph. You could make all kinds of neat patterns with it.

Well, the other day I was doing some playing around with my ray-tracer (POV-Ray), and after a while I came up with something that reminded me of one of those Spirogragh drawings (except in this case it was plotted in three dimensions). So I started to do some experimenting and came up with the following:

spiro2.jpg


http://home.earthlink.net/~parvey/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/spiro3.jpg

spiro4.jpg


These next two are a little different, as they do not follow the typical spirograph format, but I thought they were interesting enough to include.

spiro1.jpg
 
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That looks like FUN! :biggrin:
 
Very cool Janus! I miss my spirograph now. :frown:
 
You could probably do 3-d atoms with that. Give us an Fe atom. That should be a challenge.
 
Oh, so cool! My fascination with trigonometry began when we started plotting graphs of equations and I discovered they looked like spirograph patterns. :biggrin: Suddenly math was really exciting!

I miss my spirograph! Do kids still play with those?
 
Moonbear said:
Oh, so cool! My fascination with trigonometry began when we started plotting graphs of equations and I discovered they looked like spirograph patterns. :biggrin: Suddenly math was really exciting!

I miss my spirograph! Do kids still play with those?
Ive never even heard of such a thing :/
Ill google it in a second though...
So what was it about?

EDIT:thebeginning Nevermind :biggrin:
I have one of those, just found out that it was a spirograph thing :smile: :!)

EDIT2:the pen came back
http://www.goriya.com/java/spirograph/spirograph.shtml
woot, I was actually looking for that program a while ago :bugeye:

EDIT3:return of the spiro

EHH, that one sucks, I need to find the program I had earlier which actually traced it

EDIT4:moreedits?

AHHH, ok, my real physical spirograph>all these crappy computer program spirographs
 
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Moonbear said:
I miss my spirograph! Do kids still play with those?
I had one, but I'm only a few years younger than you. They were quite hypnotic.
 
I've got a Spirograph somewhere. My sister sat on the box though, so lots of the pens are missing. Bint.
 

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