The Moving Finger Writes and Having Writ... Starts Over
If the complex, geometric line art above reminds you of more youthful days, when the revolving plastic gears of your Spirograph served as a portal to the awakening delight of artistic creation, you're on the right track. Because the math employed by that classic time waster from the 60s is similar to that of the pantograph, the invention of which goes back to the dawn of the seventeenth century. Originally conceived simply as way to copy and scale diagrams, the principles behind it are deep enough that they continue to find use as a practical solution to a wide range of problems.
But there's more to life than utility. The Pintograph app is the work of Asdiel Echevarria, a programmer for Photoshop plugin developer Alien Skin Software. Automatic drawing machines employing pantograph principles, such that in the clip below, were apparently the inspiration and the app's interface clearly reflects this. The first version of Pintograph simply generates random drawings but controls will be added in the future to direct the device.
And what's the point? Well, if you've forgotten, just ask a child using a Spirograph.
Chris Dickman
Editor, Graphics.com
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