So far the only downside is the amount of room it takes up, and it's not as easy to carry around to art fairs! Other than that it's a solid and sturdy bit of kit.
Hello and thank you for the work you do: I love it! Also, I plan to buy an Axidraw A1 but I still wonder about the reliability of this machine. What do you think after all this time of use?
@@revdancatt Great ! Thank you for your feedback! In terms of effect, and in particular for flat surfaces (I know that this is not the Fort of the axidraw), can the machine compete with screen printing, with the use of posca for example? I looked a lot at the work of Licia He and Lars Wander as well as yours!
Licia's work is watercolour, which works wonderfully with the AxiDraw. The problem with Posca pens is they dry out really quickly and you need to "re-prime" them, which is a pain when plotting. I mean, solic colours _can_ be done, it's just not the strong point of the plotter, which is all about the lines.
If space would be no issue, would you have bought an A1 model straight away, or are you happy that you have you experience built upon the A3 format? Just asking since I am on the fence to buy an axidraw, but not sure if I want to go all in with the A1 and the over 2K investment, or if the smaller format might pay off in the long term. Experienced generative artist here btw :)
If I could do it again I would have bought the A1 straight away. When I was deciding between the A4 and A3 model I knew I'd want to go larger, so picked the A3. A few weeks into using it I A3 seemed really small, and I was working out ways I could move it around on an A2/A1 sheet to make larger plots. I often do A3 and smaller plots on the A1, even to the point that I sometimes think about how I could set it away doing four A3 plots in one go 😁 So I would say go for the A1 if you have the money and space. The other thing I'd suggest, and I know you're already experienced. Is just work on your code that'll spit out SVGs first, and print them out normally on A4 paper & stick 'em up on the wall. Get a feel for the type of designs and outputs you want to do. If you manage to sustain working in that "line only" style for a few weeks and really feel the itch to have them pen-plotted then get the plotter. If you're not feeling the excitement for coding line based stuff after a few weeks, then save your money.
@@revdancatt I would be interested in any information (video?) regarding how you used the A3 to make larger plots. Did you ever develop a reliable routine? Ways to register etc? I would imagine it's incredibly difficult with most of the precise, geometric plotter art that I see, but if one were making plots that were a little looser maybe it would work out. Any thoughts?
I love your art, best but t of kit! Out of interest how is the design created, is it plotted from a vector illustration or do you literally have to type in coordinates (code style)?
Nope, sadly. The best I've seen is adding a vinyl cutter and cutting thin vinyl. I have seen it done the other way around, taking a paper cutting machine and using a pen instead.
Great video, don't get your beard caught in it....hahaha
I’m a bit envious. I want to try this so badly but it’s spendy. Thanks for being so thorough in sharing your process and bts realities.
Thanks, will be sharing some more bts soon-ish
great job! 👍🏻
Thanks! 😊
Wow what a machine! Test looks great, what is your take on it so far? See any issues compared to the smaller models?
So far the only downside is the amount of room it takes up, and it's not as easy to carry around to art fairs! Other than that it's a solid and sturdy bit of kit.
Hello and thank you for the work you do: I love it! Also, I plan to buy an Axidraw A1 but I still wonder about the reliability of this machine. What do you think after all this time of use?
Ah, it's really good, a lot more solid in it's build than the early A3 one I had. Turns out I can run this one faster than the A3, I'm loving it.
@@revdancatt Great ! Thank you for your feedback! In terms of effect, and in particular for flat surfaces (I know that this is not the Fort of the axidraw), can the machine compete with screen printing, with the use of posca for example? I looked a lot at the work of Licia He and Lars Wander as well as yours!
Licia's work is watercolour, which works wonderfully with the AxiDraw.
The problem with Posca pens is they dry out really quickly and you need to "re-prime" them, which is a pain when plotting. I mean, solic colours _can_ be done, it's just not the strong point of the plotter, which is all about the lines.
If space would be no issue, would you have bought an A1 model straight away, or are you happy that you have you experience built upon the A3 format? Just asking since I am on the fence to buy an axidraw, but not sure if I want to go all in with the A1 and the over 2K investment, or if the smaller format might pay off in the long term. Experienced generative artist here btw :)
If I could do it again I would have bought the A1 straight away. When I was deciding between the A4 and A3 model I knew I'd want to go larger, so picked the A3.
A few weeks into using it I A3 seemed really small, and I was working out ways I could move it around on an A2/A1 sheet to make larger plots.
I often do A3 and smaller plots on the A1, even to the point that I sometimes think about how I could set it away doing four A3 plots in one go 😁
So I would say go for the A1 if you have the money and space.
The other thing I'd suggest, and I know you're already experienced. Is just work on your code that'll spit out SVGs first, and print them out normally on A4 paper & stick 'em up on the wall. Get a feel for the type of designs and outputs you want to do. If you manage to sustain working in that "line only" style for a few weeks and really feel the itch to have them pen-plotted then get the plotter.
If you're not feeling the excitement for coding line based stuff after a few weeks, then save your money.
@@revdancatt I would be interested in any information (video?) regarding how you used the A3 to make larger plots. Did you ever develop a reliable routine? Ways to register etc? I would imagine it's incredibly difficult with most of the precise, geometric plotter art that I see, but if one were making plots that were a little looser maybe it would work out. Any thoughts?
I love your art, best but t of kit! Out of interest how is the design created, is it plotted from a vector illustration or do you literally have to type in coordinates (code style)?
I write javascript, that writes out the coordinates as an SVG file, some of the tools I use are over here: revdancatt.com/penplotter/
I have a question about axidraw machines. Can you use a cutter instead of pen and cut normal papers?
Nope, sadly. The best I've seen is adding a vinyl cutter and cutting thin vinyl. I have seen it done the other way around, taking a paper cutting machine and using a pen instead.