Substrates
Substrates
I often use a simple flat background colour (derived from the same palette as the main subject), or no background at all, but sometimes creating a bit of structure to emulate a more organic substrate is interesting.
One substrate structure I've used is based on a random maze coloured according to a palette and the affinity within it. The maze is not just a pattern, but an actual maze that is drawn from the center out on top of a background colour derived from the same palette. Every part of the maze is connected to every other part, and from any point you can (in theory) traverse it to any other point.
The substrate is a pixel image, and is therefore not used with all my SVG art, though in some cases the SVG art is layered on top of the substrate. For more information on palettes, see the Palettes section.
Substrate
As we zoom in on the substrate, the maze pattern appeares.
Blood Orange
Like all palettes, the substrate palettes are generated from source images. In this case a blood orange.
Margate Beach
Substrate patterns are usually painted with a high degree of transparency so that they recede into the background colour and not overwhelm the primary subject.
Venice Beach Canals
Below the substrate pattern use a palette derived from a picture of the Venice Beach Canals. It is subtly drawn on a coloured background to allow the stellate subject matter to stand out.
Building the Maze
The maze is drawn randomly from the center out, and the colours of the selected palette is applied according to prevalence and affinity.
Multi Source Mazes
To create more variability in the background, two or more mazes painted with different palettes can be combined. The first video below shows combinations with two mazes, and the second video shows combinations with 10 mazes.
Line Thickness
The maze can be controlled with different parameters, creating new and potentially interesting patterns. Below the thickness of the line is increased.
Leaving the Maze
In the examples below, I'm no longer creating a maze, even if it's based on the same general code. In the first example I remove the line altogether, and in the second example I add some randomness.
