Scaled view for large images

robashdown

Hi.

I'm working on some code to produce generative artwork which evolves over time. Essentially each frame adds a few hundred points/short lines. I'd like to work with fairly large images (say 5000 x 4000px), since ultimately I'd like to send them to print (on a big scale). Since the images evolve, I'd like to be able to see a scaled version onscreen (say 1/4 size) of my image so I can decide at what point to export it.

Is there a way to do that efficiently in processing? I can't seem to find anything in the docs.

Also what would be the library to use to export. I've tried using the PDF library and beginRecord/endRecord, but that results in massive files which are pretty unusable.

Am I missing something? All tips welcome.

Thanks.

PhiLho

Have you considered to use PGraphics for your bigger graphic?

robashdown

Hi PhiLho

Thanks for the tip. I've been looking at PGraphics and can see that it is the way to go for the large files. However, what I still can't work out is whether there is an efficient way of having a scaled down viewport of it so I can get an idea of what it looks like as it evolves (so I can choose when to save etc).

I guess I can .get() it into an image every 100 or so draw cycles and scale that down to a size that fits on the screen, but is there a simpler way?

Thanks.

quark

To scale an image on the screen by 25% use

public void draw() {
  backgound(255);
  scale(0.25);
  image(img, 0, 0);
}

where img is a PGraphics drawing surface for your artwork

robashdown

quark and PhiLho.

Thanks, I've got that working now. The scaling is an expensive operation though so I only do it once every 50 frames or so. If anyone else has overcome this, please let me know. I was hoping there might be a magic viewport() method or something on PGraphics objects.

Cheers, Rob

_A_

I have made scalable drawings using relative rather than absolute values. However, this method probably will not suit your needs.