Tutorial-to-plotter research
Coding Train: Growth Systems
Teaching examples in p5.js/Processing, read as mechanisms that may—or may not—translate into plotted paths.
Examples and translations
- Space colonisation. Attractor points pull nearby branches; reached attractors are removed and averaged growth directions create new branches. Official challenge. Plot readiness: direct: branch graph becomes open paths. Multi-ink: trunk order, branch order, and attractor/terminal layer.
- Flocking / steering. Agents combine alignment, cohesion, separation, and target forces. Official topic. Plot readiness: trace time-integrated trajectories; screen particles alone are not paths. Multi-ink: long trajectories, local-density contours, and force/target markers.
- Flow fields. A vector field directs particles through space. Official topic. Plot readiness: readily export streamlines after clipping and simplification. Multi-ink: field samples, primary flows, and accumulated secondary traces.
- L-systems / fractal trees. Symbol rewriting encodes branch rules and turtle drawing. Official topic. Plot readiness: direct when turtle strokes remain open paths. Multi-ink: generations, rule families, or branch depth.
- Cellular automata. A discrete grid updates from local neighbourhood rules. Official topic. Plot readiness: indirect: trace boundaries, centres, or time-slices; pixels themselves are screen-oriented. Multi-ink: activation frontier, persistent states, and boundary changes.
- Reaction–diffusion. Coupled fields diffuse and react to form spots, waves, and labyrinths. Official topic. Plot readiness: trace thresholds/isolines, rather than plot raster cells. Multi-ink: separate concentration thresholds or contour families.
Scope
Coding Train material is tutorial and demonstration material, not a primary scientific source for every named model. Use the linked lessons to understand implementation patterns, then cite the relevant scientific or mathematical source when making claims about biological, physical, or ecological systems. Slime-mould-inspired agents, for example, are a computational family distinct from a live Physarum experiment.
Plotter checklist
Before export: preserve a seed and parameters; convert agents or fields into explicit paths; simplify without altering topology; define clipping, minimum separation, and pen order; then test each ink layer independently. A screen animation is not automatically a plotter drawing.