Amal – Assignment 11

Concept

Concept

For the final version, I kept the same cellular automata system, but I wanted the visual outcome to feel softer and less rigid. Since the original version felt very technical and structured, I wanted to push it in a more playful direction. That is where the cottagecore effect came in.

I wanted the pattern to feel a bit more organic and decorative, so instead of representing each active cell as a simple square or circle, I turned it into a small flower-like form. I liked that this changed the overall feeling of the sketch without changing the actual logic behind it. The system is still rule-based and generated through the same automata process, but visually it feels much warmer and softer.

Code I’m Proud Of

One part I liked in the final version was the flower drawing function, because it changed the appearance of the whole sketch with a relatively simple adjustment.

function drawFlower(x, y, s) {
  push();
  translate(x, y);
  noStroke();

  fill(214, 140, 170, 180);
  for (let i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
    rotate(TWO_PI / 6);
    ellipse(0, s * 0.28, s * 0.28, s * 0.58);
  }

  fill(235, 190, 90, 220);
  circle(0, 0, s * 0.25);
  pop();
}

Prototype

The prototype was mainly about getting the system to work. I kept everything very simple and close to the class example so I could understand how each part contributes to the final pattern.

At this stage, I was mostly focused on how the rules generate each new row. The visuals are very basic, and the interaction is minimal, but it helped me clearly see how the automata evolves over time.

One thing I noticed early on is that even starting with a single active cell produces patterns that aren’t immediately obvious. It made me realize how sensitive the system is to initial conditions, even in a simple setup like this.

Final Sketch

Milestones and Challenges

Once I got the system working, I knew I did not want to leave it looking too close to the class example. The prototype helped me understand the rules, but for the final version I wanted to make a stronger visual choice.

The main change I made was shifting the active cells into flower-like forms to create more of a cottagecore effect. I wanted something that felt softer, decorative, and a little more organic. A challenge here was making sure the flowers were still readable at a small scale, since the cells are quite small and repeat many times across the canvas.

Another thing I had to think about was keeping the interaction simple. I did not want to overcomplicate the sketch, so I kept the mouse click as the main way to restart the system and generate a different pattern.

Reflection and Future Improvements

I like that the final version still comes from a very simple rule-based system, but feels much more visually intentional. Adding the flower form gave it a softer and more playful quality, which is what I was aiming for with the cottagecore effect.

If I continued this, I would probably explore softer background tones, more variation in flower colors, or maybe different natural-inspired shapes so the sketch could lean even further into that visual direction.