Simon Heys

A newly tweaked version of the droplet. This one allows you to set the JPEG compression quality by changing the number in the filename - just make as many copies as you need.

MakeJpeg download page

Two big improvements in this new alpha version: first it’s much less processor-intensive (now uses OpenGL), and second it stores the screen between sessions so it doesn’t have to start with an empty screen each time.

Go to the new page to download. Please let me know by email if you have any problems.

I am working on building a physical version of Word Clock, from scratch, with electronics components. Here’s the first working circuit:

Read the rest of this entry »

A small tutorial on how to create bouncing balls with ActionScript source code. A couple of years back I was creating some interactive sites using bouncing balls as navigation. These needed to behave in a believable manner so I spent some time looking at rigid body dynamics code. Read the rest of this entry »

Word Clock has moved. Go to the new page where you can download and read more.

If you’re a print designer who regularly receives batches of digital artwork from various sources then this might save you a bit of time.
Read the rest of this entry »

Most designers and programmers whose paths I’ve crossed have heard of PostScript but don’t know much about it. I think it’s a hidden gem. Not only is it a fascinating programming language which can be used to create generative drawings and save you hours of time through automation, but you can also use it as an intermediary format to transfer output from other languages such as Flash ActionScript or Java / Processing into Adobe Illustrator.
Read the rest of this entry »

Decided to redesign the site so the blog areas are on a white background. I’m planning to write a few tutorials over the next couple of weeks and this design will make them much easier to read. Portfolio and Archive will be receiving some attention soon too.

Heart-felt thanks to the heroic Ole Zorn who volunteered to translate the clock into German, not realising that he was about to experience a grueling 3-day schedule of testing and round-the-clock correspondence. Thanks Ole!
Read the rest of this entry »

[ZIP] Download Pottery with source code

To use: draw a simple ‘S’ shape on the left-hand panel. Then experiment. Note that it’s fairly crude and only renders convex surfaces properly.

This was a quick mockup I made at the end of last year to try out an idea for a Christmas Card. It was originally going to be for making baubels, and would have the addition of automatic smoothing, concave rendering and mapping a christmassy texture onto the surface. Probably saving, galleries etc. might have followed.

I like simple interactive toys like this, where you can understand what to do straight away and there’s an immediate reward and a sense of play.