Making Art with Machines
*POSTPONED*
(13 - 18 year olds)

In this interactive workshop, you'll program pen plotters to draw whatever you want. You will learn how to create digital artwork on your own computer in the form of SVGs, and we will plot them out on paper.
In this class, you will learn:
• How to convert images into SVGs optimized for a pen plotter
• About pen plotting machines including the HP 7550 and the AxiDraw
• History of the Plotter Artist and Pioneer Vera Molnár
• Tools for generating SVGs
• How to work with paths and fills inside a SVG
• Next steps, additional project ideas and techniques to explore to build upon your knowledge like CMYK color separation by paths, converting images into SVGs, and working with text.

Students will walk away with deeper knowledge about the history of pen plotter machines and their use by artists. You will also learn how these machines work and how to create your own files to be drawn by plotters. We designed this to be a foundational course to continue your work with plotters or expand to other machines. Many people get their start with robotics and machine operation by learning the basics presented in this class.

Materials needed:
Laptop

Software to be downloaded:
Inkscape (free, multi-platform & open source) https://inkscape.org