Experiments with Creating Random Dot Textures

Often you have to go through a research phase before you can work out how you are going to do your next project.  I have been experimenting with creating half tones - these are regular rows of circles which create different shades depending on the size of the circles and their density.  Both my Unicycling Bear and Cat's Meow prints make use of half tones.  If you like these half tone print effects, you can purchase them from Retro Supplies as digital brushes.

However, I wanted to scope options to create dot textures which were more random.  This would produce a more naturalistic effect which would be in keeping with some rainforest designs I have in mind for the future.  Inkscape offers a number of filters which create different effects.  In this case, I applied the 'Noise' filter, which created a speckled effect on a solid area of colour.  I created a simple rectangle, then applied the noise filter at different densities and added a solid letter in another layer.  I also did a simple image of an owl in a wood with a noise filter, to see how that would look.

This was semi successful.  I liked the way in which the lettered rectangles turned out.  However, the owl was not well enough defined with the noise filter applied!  Nonetheless, the results of these experiments propelled me forward to the next stage.  This was a more systematic assessment and application of the noise filter at different levels.  With assistance from the Technician at the Perth Ideas Centre, I learned about saving the file as a PDF and altering the resolution for resaturisation at different DPIs.  You can see selecting either 96DPI or 300DPI could have a real impact on how the laser cutter rasterised the wood and how the speckles turned out.  As I'll share in a future blog post, this learning helped me shape my next step and the production of my next woodcut print...