spectral by oppos
Spectral is a generative art project via the Plottables.io platform where you brought to life a drawing by minting it as an NFT.
This plotting guide is meant to help you plot that drawing. These are only suggestions that we think might work well but the joy of being a co-creator of a plottable, digital art means spending time with the piece and experimenting with colors, pens, paper, and style. Enjoy the process and thanks for creating it with us. ❤️
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We’ll be releasing extra unlockable content powered by Darkblock in the coming weeks and will announce it in the Plottables Discord once it is ready.
TLDR;
- We suggest at least three passes:
- The "Stippling" and "Fibers" layers with your finest tip pens (0.3mm or smaller),
- "Symbols" 1-N with slightly thicker pens (0.3-0.5mm) and all the colors you think will look good.
- Highlighter (if part of your piece) with a thick transparent highlighter.
- If in a hurry, plot everything on your largest, high-quality paper with your finest-tip pens (0.3mm or smaller).
Plotter settings
Plotting will take from 1 to 9 hours so you might want to think about slowing down the movements of the motor to help the stepper work at a nice and easy pace. Adjusting the up and down distances can also help preserve the longevity of the motor. A good starting point for these settings is 70-up/40-down (in InkScape) or 40-up/70-down (in Saxi).
Spectral is designed to be stopped and resumed later. This is both to rest the motor and for you to get new ideas mid-way on how the next layer could look.
Paper
The type of paper used for the plot is hugely important. It is recommended to use high-quality and sturdy paper to the plot.
We think Spectral looks nicer on larger paper (11 3/4" x 16 1/2" / A3) but you can use any size paper. Smaller canvas gives a denser, more tigtly layered plot.
Color Palettes & Pens
For standard plotting at Letter or A4 paper size, we recommend 0.3mm (or smaller) fine-point nib line of pens. The nib is small enough to capture the details.
In general, we recommend:
- Plot the bottom layers ("Stippling" and "Fibers") with your finest tip pens (0.3mm or smaller).
- Plot the "Symbol" layers with thicker pens (e.g. 0.3-0.5mm) and play around with different tip pens.
- Plot the "Highlight" layer (if applicable) with whatever transparent highlighting pen you got laying around.
When plotting on black paper we recommend gel pens but keep in mind that gel pens may require more pressure while plotting.
We’ve designed Spectral with specific set of pens in mind per color palette and labeled the layers so it should be easy for you to follow our recommendations - but remember to experiment and use what you got. Break all the rules!
Fluorescent on Black
| Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight Gel Pen - 0.6 mm - 10 Color Set #1 | ||
| Pen | Purpose | Line |
|---|---|---|
| Blue (0.6 mm) | Stippling + Fibers | 0.3mm |
| Fluorescent Pink (0.6 mm) | Symbols | 0.3mm |
| Fluorescent Red (0.6 mm) | Symbols | 0.3mm |
| Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight Gel Pen - 1.0 mm - 10 Color Set | ||
| Pen | Purpose | Line |
| Fluorescent Green (1.0 mm) | Symbols | 0.5mm |
| Fluorescent Yellow (1.0 mm) | Symbols | 0.5mm |
| Fluorescent Orange (1.0 mm) | Symbols | 0.5mm |
Colors on White
| Sakura Pigma Micron Pen - Black - 10 Pen Set | ||
| Pen | Purpose | Line |
|---|---|---|
| Black (0.2 mm) | Stippling + Fibers | 0.2mm |
| Black (0.25 mm) | Symbols | 0.25mm |
| Sakura Pigma Micron Pen - Size 05 - 0.45 mm - 15 Color Bundle | ||
| Pen | Purpose | Line |
| Brown (0.45 mm) | Symbols | 0.45mm |
| Orange (0.45 mm) | Symbols | 0.45mm |
| Red (0.45 mm) | Symbols | 0.45mm |
| Sepia (0.45 mm) | Symbols | 0.45mm |
Colors on Black
| Sakura Gelly Roll Classic Gel Pen - Fine/Medium/Bold - White - 3 Pen Set | ||
| Pen | Purpose | Line |
|---|---|---|
| White (0.5 mm) | Stippling + Fibers | 0.3mm |
| White (0.8 mm) | Symbols | 0.4mm |
| Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight Gel Pen - 0.6 mm - 10 Color Set #2 | ||
| Pen | Purpose | Line |
| Bordeaux (0.6 mm) | Symbols | 0.3mm |
| Pale Brown (0.6 mm) | Symbols | 0.3mm |
| Sakura Gelly Roll Classic Gel Pen - Medium - 0.8 mm - 10 Color Set | ||
| Pen | Purpose | Line |
| Brown (0.8 mm) | Symbols | 0.45mm |
| Red (0.8 mm) | Symbols | 0.45mm |
White on Black
| Sakura Gelly Roll Classic Gel Pen - Fine/Medium/Bold - White - 3 Pen Set | ||
| Pen | Purpose | Line |
|---|---|---|
| White (0.5 mm) | Stippling + Fibers | 0.3mm |
| White (0.5 mm) | Symbols | 0.3mm |
| White (0.8 mm) | Symbols | 0.4mm |
| White (1.0 mm) | Symbols | 0.5mm |
Black on White
| Sakura Pigma Micron Pen - Black - 10 Pen Set | ||
| Pen | Purpose | Line |
|---|---|---|
| Black (0.2 mm) | Stippling + Fibers | 0.2mm |
| Black (0.3 mm) | Symbols | 0.3mm |
| Black (0.35 mm) | Symbols | 0.35mm |
| Black (0.45 mm) | Symbols | 0.45mm |
| Black (0.5 mm) | Symbols | 0.5mm |
Gold Silver Bronze
| Sakura Gelly Roll Classic Gel Pen - Fine/Medium/Bold - White - 3 Pen Set | ||
| Pen | Purpose | Line |
|---|---|---|
| White (0.5 mm) | Stippling + Fibers | 0.3mm |
| Sakura Gelly Roll Metallic Gel Pen - 1.0 mm - Gold/Silver/Copper - 3 Color Set | ||
| Pen | Purpose | Line |
| Gold (1.0 mm) | Symbols | 0.4mm |
| Silver (1.0 mm) | Symbols | 0.4mm |
| Copper (1.0 mm) | Symbols | 0.4mm |
All Recommened Pen Sets
- Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight Gel Pen - 0.6 mm - 10 Color Set #1
- Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight Gel Pen - 1.0 mm - 10 Color Set
- Sakura Pigma Micron Pen - Black - 10 Pen Set
- Sakura Pigma Micron Pen - Size 05 - 0.45 mm - 15 Color Bundle
- Sakura Gelly Roll Classic Gel Pen - Fine/Medium/Bold - White - 3 Pen Set
- Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight Gel Pen - 0.6 mm - 10 Color Set #2
- Sakura Gelly Roll Classic Gel Pen - Medium - 0.8 mm - 10 Color Set
- Sakura Gelly Roll Metallic Gel Pen - 1.0 mm - Gold/Silver/Copper - 3 Color Set