Pintograph
Draw phyllotactic images (Blooms) and animate them
In Short
Introducing the Pintograph, a mesmerizing innovation that transcends static art. This three-wheeled contraption ingeniously draws intricate images, ready to spring to life through animation. Ingeniously calibrated, the small wheels make around 2.618… rotations while the larger wheel completes a single rotation. Through a carefully crafted detuning of the small wheels, the resultant images mirror the captivating patterns seen in nature, such as succulents or the Romanesco.
Details and Theory
A 3-wheel pintograph that draws pictures that can be animated. The small wheels turn approx. 2.618… times while the large wheel turns once. The small wheels are slightly detuned. The resulting pictures, therefore, have the same structure as plants that show phyllotactic spirals like succulents or the Romanesco. John Edmark showed that structures, images or even plants that exhibit these patterns can be animated when spun under a strobe light. He calls these structures Blooms.