Stroomlijn holds a special place for me. While focused on creating a plottable project, I neglected my creative enjoyment. As a result, I ended up with many unfinished projects that were okay but didn't feel like something I could proudly call my own. Everything clicked when I released those limitations and pursued something I truly enjoyed, only transforming it into a plottable work after the visuals were how I wanted them to be.

My studio is cluttered with various test plots and different directions I initially had for this project. I took a lot of inspiration from artists like Mario Nigro and Peter Struycken, who use bold rectangular patterns in their work. I studied their art and learned how to create dark and thick shapes using just lines. Once I mastered that technique, I incorporated it into my own personal style, with Stroomlijn being the final result.

For this project, it's best to use Pigma Micron 05 fineliners when plotting. If you're plotting a white on black design, go for a white Sakura Gelly Roll 08 pen. When it comes to paper, choose Bristol Smooth for white background plots. Use Fabriano Black Black for black background plots. For the other options use smooth thick (160g+) paper in light grey or cream (Mi-Teintes for example).

To reduce the chance of mistakes, set your plotter settings to a slow speed. If you wish to experiment with a thinner pen, you can add ‘?density=$“ to the URL of the live view. Replace ‘$’ with 2 or 3 to increase the amount of lines that are drawn. 1 is the default value. You can also use decimal numbers but those can result in different patterns. Press spacebar to download the new SVG file.