Scott Pakin’s
Random Art Generator

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Scott Pakin’s Random Art Generator is a Web application that produces a different abstract, computer-generated image each time it’s run. Simply adjust the parameters to your liking and press Generate.

The following parameters can be modified:

• Image size. The application draws only square images. The image size is the number of pixels in each dimension.
• Complexity. The greater the complexity, the greater the likelihood of fine levels of detail within the image.
• Color model. The application creates a separate pattern for each color channel. These color channels are defined by one of RGB, CMYK, YCbCr, or HSV. Random selects one of those at random.
• Make tileable?. If set, repeated copies of the generated image will tile seamlessly both horizontally and vertically.
• Equalize channels?. If set, the colors used in each color channel will be equalized to cover the entire range of values.

Both larger image sizes and greater complexities increase rendering time.

If the application generates an image you like, you can save it using your Web browser’s regular image-saving mechanism. On a computer, this typically involves right-clicking on the image and selecting Save image as…. On a smartphone, this typically involves long-pressing on the image and selecting Download image.

Pro tip (to thank you for reading this far): If you drag an image file onto the image region, the application will incorporate that image into the ones it generates. The image border will turn cyan to indicate that this is happening. Click to make the application forget about the image file. For best results, decrease the complexity to about 3–5.

The application works by creating functions at random—one per color channel—that map a 2‑D coordinate to a value from 0–100%. These functions are composed from a large palette of primitive functions, which provide an incredible amount of variety.

Enjoy!

Scott Pakin