Alchemy

Some of our art students have asked for open source programs. Today we are presenting Alchemy. It could be installed on Windows, Mac and Linux computers!

Alchemy consists of a growing number of ‘modules’ that can be added or removed at will. Using a given module you can do things like:

• Shout at the computer. Use your voice to control the width of a line or the form of a shape.
• Draw ‘blind’. Turn off the canvas display and explore what shapes emerge from the ‘darkness’.
• Create random shapes. Generate shapes that can be used as a starting point for characters, spaceships, or whatever shape you see in the ‘clouds’.
• Mirror draw. Draw mirrored symmetrical forms in realtime.
• Randomise. Mess up and distort shapes.

Global Features

Other global features place focus on the ‘process’ of drawing, letting you do things like:

• Record a drawing ’session’. Automatically save the contents of the canvas to a page in a PDF file at set intervals.
• Auto-clear the canvas. Start drawing on a clean slate at set intervals. Force yourself to start over fresh.
• Switch the canvas. Automatically open your sketch in a more ‘conventional’ drawing application, either as a bitmap or vector file.
• Avoid distraction. Alchemy has a very minimal interface, just a simple toolbar that dissapears magically, and a fullscreen mode to block everything else out.

Whatever you need to know before installing (or any help after installing), could be found on this webpage.