X

The Watercolor Algorithm Inspired by Bob Ross


August 27, 2013 | Andy Cush

In the future, everything will be automated–even milquetoast painting. Case in point: digital artist Kenichi Yoneda (aka Kynd) has created an algorithm that emulates the natural bleed and unpredictability of watercolor paints. And though he didn’t use watercolors himself, Kynd says he was inspired by that venerated master of the magnificently milquetoast: Bob Ross.

Kynd says he was inspired by the way Ross “almost automatically finish his pieces every 30 minutes” to create his code. And while his work (watch a video above and below) does make for pretty convincing watercolors, he says he’d like to get it past the point of generative abstraction, to where it could produce automatic paintings from webcam or Google images input, according to the Verge.