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tunnelcat

On a lighter note, some advice please?

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I can't remember when it was I was first introduced to a Spirograph. Had to be around 1965 or 1966, and I could not draw anything with the darn contraption--my pen kept skipping out of the little hole on the little wheel. I think it was my first attempt at "art" and I failed miserably.When I started work on a MSFS project early last year, I thought that a Spirograph would be a great way to generate a logo for a fictitious livery. But the thought of using one of those contraptions, scanning it, etc, was too much. Brought back those painful memories (just kidding folks) of my attempts at mastering the mighty Spirograph.Anyway to shorten the boring story, I set out to apply my wish to computer code. I wrote a program I call "SpiroPaint!" and like everything else I've written want to make it freely available for use. My question--does anyone have a clue where I can have a file like this hosted? It is not MSFS related, although I might use it for adding to my liveries, it's really meant for the artist in all of us. I wrote it with that in mind. It seems most of the common sites that list freeware, shareware, etc expect the author to provide a url for the site hosting the file. Here's a link to some of my images I've created with the program. If they look complex, looks are deceiving. Most were created with about 10-20 seconds of work.http://www.flickr.com/photos/26982491@N02Regards,John

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Guest j-mo

Hello, John-I had forgotten all about Spirograph, but your pics brought back fond memories! I really like Grad 3, and also Turn 08, 10 and 30. I can see them them evolving into a logo.I'm no expert (and maybe you've already done this), but a Google search turned up this:http://www.free-webhosts.com/webhosting-01.phpwhich has reviews to some 300 free hosting sites. Maybe there is something there for you.Cheers,

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Gosh, that brings back memories! If it wasn't the pen slipping out of the holes, it was the wheels jumping a cog, or the pins working loose...I'd certainly be interested in a copy of your prog if you make it available. :)

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Guest RichUK

John,How big is it? ;)Rich.

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Hi John. Wow ! Nice outputs ! Do you know about fractals ??? It is AMAZING ! !Blue skies.

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The program itself with the sample parameter files (I let users save the parameters that result in the most interesting pictures) isn't more than a meg at most. Mostly due to there being no installation wizard, it's a standalone program that leaves the O/S and registry alone. Regards,John

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"Do you know about fractals ???It is AMAZING ! !"I've tried many of the fractal programs, and in may ways they were what inspired me to write a program of my own to generate computer art. Some "canvas and oil" artists don't consider computer art "Art". I think it is. I am awed not by what I create, but by the fact it's all done with "ones and zeroes". Regards,John

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If you are willing to release the source, as well as the binary, I suggest SourceForge. If it's written in any of the .NET languages, then CodePlex would be a good home for it.DJ

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Just to update this thread I opened from a few months' back, I built a crude webpage to host my program and also renamed the application to "SpiraPaint". For the aircraft repainters out there you might be able to use this tool to create some custom logos or graphics for your virtual airlines. For everyone else, especially those members with children or those members with a bit of child still in 'em, it's a tool to have fun with.Here's a link to the webpage and the download link is a little ways down:http://members.cox.net/cactus521/spirapaint.shtmlRegards,John

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Guest thebarnstormer

WOW! is an understatement.. What a great idea! Remember "Light-Bright"? I think it came out a few years after Spirograph... you plugged colored pegs into a blackened screen to create a picture, kind of like changing pixels. Art in the eye of the beholder, not in what someone says it is. Thanks John!Jerry

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John,That's some really nice work! It sure brought back the memories of my Spirograph when I was a kid in the 1960s. I wish I still had the thing.The Spirograph was produced in 1966 after the artwork of John Whitney, who did the opening animation for the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Vertigo, in 1958. He invented and built a mechanical analog computer from World War II components to create his wonderful spiral animation on film! Check these links out for more information.[A HREF=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whitney_(animator)]http : // en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Whitney_(animator)[/A]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpirographThe following link has a YouTube example of Whitney's type of animation (although the resolution makes it hard to see the detail):http://www.vj-u.net/2008/03/21/john-whitne...fects-computer/Kim

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Thanks for both your replies. I was familiar with the Wikipedia Spirograph link but hadn't seen the links on John Whitney.I've updated the website and also posted a new version of SpiraPaint. I cleaned up some nagging issues and simplified the user interface to make it more accessible to children--I was afraid the earlier version might have been too overwhelming to look at, and I am much happier with the new version. I made changes to some of the equations for my three wheel image generator. Not only is drawing sped up, but the user has more control over the output by playing with the sizes of the three wheels. The changes also open up the possibility of an image generator with an unlimited number of wheels--the resulting images can look pretty wild though, and I haven't decided whether I'd release something like that. I might set something like that aside for advanced users. I also put a front end on my website as I plan on adding another project in the next couple of weeks, something I've called "MirrorArt" which is also aimed at children. The front end of the website is:http://members.cox.net/cactus521All of the pages on my website are pretty crude and simple. Nothing too fancy. I am proud I've done it on my own and I'm not using a bunch of popups or sleazy sponsors to support the site. I've shuffled some things around a bit to make them less intimidating. I've shared the website with the local school districts here in my part of Phoenix, and have had some keen interest. I reset the visit counter this weekend but don't expect a lot of traffic to the SpiraPaint page until the program is up on download.com later this month.If any member here uses the application for creating a new virtual airline logo, I'd love to see it! Regards,John

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Guest bobmay

Hi John,Well, it's freeware and it's vaguely related to aircraft painting so we would host it for you with a link from our paint kits page. No charge.Drop me an email if you're interested.bob.may@premaircraft.comBob Maywww.premaircraft.com

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Thanks Bob,I am waiting for SpiraPaint to appear on download.com. Once it's there, you're welcome to link to that page if you wish. Right now I am working on version 1.6 which adds a fourth wheel (the toy only allowed for use of two wheels). Once I am done with the documentation I am going to post version 1.6 on my site.To my knowledge, there's never been a program or java applet released which has simulated four wheels. Mine will be the first. The first random images I've generated have been beautiful--perfect for VA logos or for that matter, desktop wallpaper.Regards,John

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Hey John, sorry to bump this up but just one question. Is Windows XP the required operating system for your SpiraPaint program or can you use an older version like Win 98SE? I'd like to play with it on my other computer.Kim

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