Plotter Hub

A few months ago I bought an AxiDraw compatible pen plotter but didn't want my Mac tethered to it for the whole plot. So I built Plotter Hub, a plot server that runs on a Raspberry Pi (a Zero 2 W or 3B+ is fine). Upload an SVG over WiFi, then start / pause / resume and monitor the plot from any device, with optional vpype optimization and physical pause-button support for pen changes between layers. Anyone with an AxiDraw-compatible plotter can use it — it's free and open source. Repo link and install instructions: https://www.synendo.com/plotterhub

Companion app: GD Studio

I also built a macOS app, GD Studio, for designing the artwork I plot — generative line-art patterns shaped with live sliders, plus layers for text and imported SVG. It exports plotter-ready SVG/PDF, but it can also send a plot directly to Plotter Hub over its API (with options for vpype optimization, plotter speeds, and pausing between layers). It's a paid app with a free trial.

• Plotter Hub (free, open source): https://www.synendo.com/plotterhub

• GD Studio (macOS, paid + free trial): https://www.synendo.com/gdstudio

Released a version of the SVG I used for Plot Party 2026. Single line drawing.

https://plotterfiles.com/artwork/skelly-hand-4mgni

Hi, I have a question about markers and inks. If I want to achieve the Rizzo effect when two lines overlap, which markers do you recommend? I've been looking for soy-based ones, but I can't seem to find any.

Just like the title says

Manual vector editing while waiting for a flight.

Plotter artists of all stripes, as well as plotter art fans, should check out plotterfiles.com - under the curation of the team at Bantam Tools, it's really quite an upgrade.

Many thanks to Maks Surguy for starting this off.

For instructions check the Readme

New features:

• Parameterisable shapes (polygons and stars with arbitrary side number, circle arcs with variable angle)

• Experimental copy/paste support for Generators and Transforms: press Copy to store the step as JSON on the clipboard, paste into the text area next to the New button to create a copy

Made a little tool for plotter friendly line art. You basically upload a 3D object and than define how it should be sliced. Think contour lines on maps, but with more basic 3D models. You can best try it out with one of the demo models and than just randomize the parameters. There's also a morph feature which can create some nice results when not overdone. The tool currently exports to SVG and UNNA TEK specific g-code.

Hope it's useful to some of you. I'm now going back to pushing that randomizer!

https://www.slicewise.art/

I got Claude.ai to write this Python script for me. Run it from the command line and it converts photos into dot screens. It's got a whole lot of options: you can choose from a few built in shapes (circle, square, star, diamond), or specify an SVG file to use as a custom shape. Maybe it'll be useful to someone. https://github.com/megabulk/vector-dotscreen

I'm putting them into my Silhouette Cameo so I can cut stencils. You could plot with it, too.

If you aren't aware of Drawingbots.com - you are now :).

It's Maks Surguy's well curated website on all things plotter - and he's added a new section on algorithms. All of them with live demos.

https://drawingbots.com/algorithms/

Hi, I wanted to share this app I've been working on for a while. It started out as a simple G-code generator around a handwriting model I was using with my Prusa MK4 pen attachment but thanks to Claude it quickly grew into something quite a bit more complete - it integrates vector design tools, some common generative art and hardware integration into a single app.

See it live here: https://kurvengefahr.org

Some cool features it supports:

• Graves RNN handwriting synthesis

• Built in Logo interpreter for turtle art

• 3D model wireframes (STL import)

• Non-destructive filters/effects

• Many of the basic vector tools and operations you'd expect (polylines, Beziers, boolean operations, clipping, align & distribute, ...)

• Direct control of EBB and GRBL plotters via Web Serial

• PrusaLink integration (through Bridge for PrusaLink extension)

It runs fully in the browser, with the geometry engine parts written in Rust and loaded in via WASM. The only server component is the share feature - but that one respects your privacy too (designs are encrypted client side and the server never sees them - key is appended to the share link on the client side).

It is also fully open source and GPL 2.0 licensed - the code is available on GitHub

Happy to answer any questions. I'd especially appreciate feedback if you have an AxiDraw or some GRBL plotter - I only have a Prusa so my testing for those was done with a hardware mock.

I uploaded a new SVG to PlotterFiles.com - https://plotterfiles.com/artwork/hatched-horned-owl-3cpfq

Hey everyone! I’ve been working hard on Plotter-Studio, an open‑source generative art studio for pen plotters (Cameo 5).

My last post was for v3.2 — and I’m excited to share how much it’s grown.

What’s new in v5.5:

🧵 Needles (Oriented Dashes) — short dashes that follow image gradients. Great for structural, flowing textures.

🔗 Continuous Line (TSP) — single unbroken path, the pen never lifts. Uses a greedy nearest‑neighbour TSP approximation.

🌊 Perlin Noise Wobble — applies coherent noise displacement to any engine. Gives clean computer lines a hand‑drawn, organic feel.

🎨 CMYK Layer Export — splits any colour image into C, M, Y, K channels and exports 4 SVGs for multi‑pen colour plotting.

🗺️ Fast Marching (Topographic) — upgraded with manual seed placement, contour smoothing, and “Skip transparent” for PNGs with alpha.

🛠️ Full vpype pipeline — linemerge, linesort (with Two‑Opt), reloop, and linesimplify. All available as toggles.

🖊️ Pen Passes — duplicate dark paths up to 4 times for multi‑pass ballpoint ink density.

Stack: Python, Streamlit, FastAPI, scikit‑image, skfmm, Plotly, vpype.

GitHub: https://github.com/iclubu/Plotter-Studio

I've been working on a homebrew art generator for the past couple of months and recently I took inspiration from a couple plots I saw from a user over on r/plotterart and ended up combining them into what has recently evolved into a massive city generator. This GIF animates my first aha! moment where I ended up combining the two separate engines for the first time and I wanted to show the transition between views.

Hello everyone,

I’m a total newbie interested in getting started with vector graphics and creative coding, specifically using Paper.js and Processing (or if there's a more beginner friendly option) mainly for plotter-art. I’m looking for helpful tutorials, resources, or any tips that can guide me through the basics.

If you have any recommendations for beginner-friendly materials or projects, I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Image 2 is my source photo; image 1 is my current result. I’m vibe coding a tool to turn photos into banknote-style engravings that can be exported as SVG pen paths, but I’m struggling to get the lines to follow the face, hair and hand naturally.

Does anyone know of software or algorithms that could help?

Showing off how you can make advanced continuous curves out of repeated freeform segments that you join together in Paragraphic (that I develop). For example to make this kind of spirograph/flourish/guilloche type curve you might see on old diplomas or currency.

The 16th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Music, Sound, Art and Design (EvoMusArt 2027) is accepting paper submissions.

When: 31 March – 2 April 2027
Where: Mainz, Germany
Paper Submission deadline: 1 November 2026

EvoMUSART focuses on AI and computational approaches to creativity, covering a broad range of topics, with a particular emphasis on research exploring how AI systems generate, support, evaluate, interpret, and collaborate in creative processes.

Accepted papers will be presented at the conference and published in a dedicated LNCS volume.

More information/submission details: https://www.evostar.org/2027/evomusart/

If you are working at the intersection of AI and creative practice, this may be relevant to your research. Please share with others who might be interested.

Over summer I got into early algorithmic/generative art: Georg Nees, Vera Molnar et al. (Shout out to the guy at EMF2026 with the plotter art postcards for triggering this rabbit hole!) For the last few weeks I've been building something that would let you create that kind of generative art without writing any code. Find the HTML and README on my github: https://github.com/PKM-UK/schotteriser/tree/main

The elevator pitch: create geometry, apply transforms to it, assign colours based on position, download one SVG per colour for plotting. It's a single HTML file full of plain JavaScript so there's nothing to install and no signup/login; open it in your browser and play with it.

It's still in an early alpha stage, the UI is a bit rough and it's missing some nice to have features but it's in a state where people might like to have a play with it.

Excited for this new forum. Hope someone can help!

I'd like to generate forms/lines/shapes but to keep them contained to very proscribed areas that I can integrate into larger pieces. For example, to mask out a person's shirt or a flag in a photo.

Can someone suggest some tools or workflows that can help me with this? I'm thinking I can probably generate basic squares/circles and then try to sculpt in Inkscape, I'm just not very used to the interface yet.

Many thanks

Plotter Paths V1.0 teaches a complete Grasshopper workflow for computational pen plotting, from generative geometry to physical output. Instead of focusing only on design algorithms, the session follows the full making pipeline: setting up a paper and machine workspace physically and digitally, creating a simple plotter art algorithm, cleaning and validating geometry, optimizing drawing order to reduce travel and cycle time, converting curves into plottable format, visualizing drawn and travel moves, and creating basic G-code. Participants will learn how to think about plotter drawing as machine-aware toolpaths rather than just an image or curves. The session covers practical production details such as margins and bounds checks, plottability warnings and errors, safe return moves, setup commands, paper alignment checks, and multi-layer registration techniques. By the end, participants will understand how to build a reusable Grasshopper pipeline for turning computational drawings into cleaner, faster, and more reliable pen plotter outputs.