Prompt:

Our ability to see patterns is what makes us human. However we also see patterns where none exist because our brains are biased towards detecting certain kinds of patterns over others (e.g. faces). Create a pattern by making something with a lot of repetition. Is the resulting pattern easy to see or hard to see? What would it mean to create the illusion of pattern?

The assignment immediately reminded me of Scanimation, or maybe better known as the Barrier-grid animation. It is an animation effect created by moving a striped transparent overlay across an interlaced image. Therefore to experiment, I imported an interlaced image to see if I could code out the animation effect. It seems like a good proportion of the moving pattern layering on top is 8:3 (8 black and 3 white).

https://editor.p5js.org/Ayanoriri/sketches/jMS0eSV2E

Given the need to incorporate transformation techniques for this assignment, I decided to explore a variant of Scanimation using circles. My goal was to simulate the effect of a transparent ball placed on a rotating circle by capturing the overlapping pattern each time a small circle passes over the larger circle. I then re-drew the recorded image at the same size as the "transparent ball recorder" but set it to follow its path with a 2-3 frame delay to create the desired visual effect.

https://editor.p5js.org/Ayanoriri/sketches/KoL6z6Kih

Despite the fact that I struggled with calculations and had to get help online for the correct math to draw each wedge segment of the big circle, the toughest part was accurately capturing the overlapping patterns at the right intervals and making sure the recorded frames stayed aligned during playback. I think I had to debug it over 30 times to get everything right. I also didn’t want the animation to be too fast since I wanted it to look like an illusion. A faster speed would result in a more apparent delay, and that is also fun to watch.