The Genesis of Personal computer Art-FORTRAN (Backus) a Laptop Artwork Medium Creates a Mosaic Mona Lisa

Where by did computer system art, computer system graphics and laptop animation get started?

Written interaction became sharable and pervasive once stone etchings were being replaced with the mobility of paper and ink. Equally after pc languages state-of-the-art from equipment or assembly code to 3rd era laptop languages, only then did pc output progress from simple alphanumerical (it’s possible mosaic) printouts to graphics and photographs with clean curves and realism.

Pc graphical output acquired its humble start out when alphanumeric characters hammered on TTY and line printers to represent X-Y graphs and even mosaic images. It was crude, but authorized for a extra successful evaluation of mathematical and scientific methods. Laptop or computer programming languages like FORTRAN and Standard made it a lot easier to acquire and method printers, plotters and CRT screens to show and print graphics and eventually visuals.

The FORTRAN programming language – a personalized and historic short evaluation.

FORTRAN programming as an Art Medium?

So it was achievable to make an alphanumeric printout photograph of the renowned Mona Lisa working with FORTRAN print statements. This graphic of the Mona Lisa was accomplished by printing and about-printing conventional alphanumeric figures creating a mosaic art piece to form an picture of that well-known Leonardo da Vinci painting. Stage again from this laptop printout and you seen a very simple replica of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

Carrying out this rudimentary laptop art would be hrs and days of monotonous get the job done involving the pursuing techniques:

1) You would require to consider a copy of the original graphic and a grid (mapping to the 133 character width of a regular computer system printout webpage) on a piece of transparency.

2) Spot the grid transparency on major of the image and then fill in the grid cells more than the impression with alphanumeric characters that will depict a mosaic of the authentic picture.

3) Emphasize individuals grid cells that will be overprinted (daring sort) to make shade and texture matching the primary picture.

4) Now you choose each individual line of the grid and code it utilizing FORTRAN print statements.

5) Like a brush to canvas the personal computer printout graphic of Mona Lisa will acquire type after lots of days of coding.

For a done variation of this method and a ensuing computer system mosaic of the Mona Lisa test out the Pisaca Internet Albums pictures at: http://picasaweb.google.com/carl.chesal/MonaLisaComputerArtFortran

The research has started for accessibility to an 80 column punch card reader.

The FORTRAN code for the Mona Lisa Mosaic is on authentic 90-column punch playing cards. Finding access to an 80-column card reader could aid relocating the Mona Lisa FORTRAN code from its analog state to a digital version. Utilizing an on-line editor, I could the moment all over again deploy the electricity of FORTRAN to print copies of ‘computer mosaic’ Mona Lisa. Then ‘Mosaic Mona’ would be accessible for the world to appreciate.

My infatuation with FORTRAN programming may possibly have stemmed from the truth that both FORTRAN and I have been coincidentally established in 1954. Thank you John Backus for FORTRAN.