Type & code

Waveform

Every row read as a signal: brightness becomes the swing of a trace.

Waveform: a type & code effect on the built-in sample photograph. Computed on your machine right now.
Open Waveform in the studio

Controls

spacing
Distance between traces in source pixels, which also sets how many of them fit
amplitude
How far a trace swings, in spacings. Above one they start to overlap, which is a legitimate look rather than a fault
mode
Centre swings both ways around the axis, like a scope; baseline grows upward only, like the envelope of an audio track
thickness
Line width as a share of the spacing, so the tone of the picture holds at any output size
invert
Which end counts as silence: on a scope a zero signal is a straight line, and the picture decides which end that is
contrast
A number from -1 to 1, 0 by default.
ink
A colour, #ffffff by default.
paper
A colour, #000000 by default.

Starting points

Nearby in Type & code