What is GART?
GART is a book of 165 mathematical instruments for making art. Each pattern turns one piece of mathematics into a drawing you can tune, set moving and keep: aperiodic tilings, fractals, minimal surfaces, knight's tours, optical illusions and more.
Every pattern has its own page explaining the mathematics behind the drawing, with links to further reading and credit to the people whose discoveries it is built on. Browse every pattern or meet the people behind the mathematics.
Who makes GART?
GART is designed and built by Leon Poole (opens in a new tab). The mathematics belongs to the people credited on each pattern's page.
To get in touch, see Contact below.
How do I use it?
Pick a pattern, then turn its dials. Each has a few main controls, more under Fine tuning, and presets to start from. Many patterns move, and 3D forms turn when you drag them.
A pattern's settings are kept in its page address, so a link reopens the same drawing.
What can I export?
Every drawing exports as SVG for print and the web, and as PNG. Patterns that move also export as video.
For a pen plotter or laser cutter, choose Plotter: an SVG 200 mm across, in one black pen, with no background and no transparency, since a plotter draws every line at full strength. Shading made from fainter lines plots as solid lines, so patterns built from even lines plot best.
To put a drawing on your own page, choose Embed for a snippet of HTML, or Credit for a line to paste under a picture.
Is it free?
Yes. Every pattern is free to use and needs no account. An account is only for saving drawings so they open on any device you sign in to. See Privacy for what is stored.
How are GART's images licensed?
Drawings you make with GART are yours.
The images GART publishes, such as the drawing on each pattern's page, are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (opens in a new tab) (CC BY 4.0). You may share and adapt them for any purpose, including commercially, as long as you give credit: "GART by Leon Poole", with a link to the pattern's page where you can. For example: Spectre, GART by Leon Poole, https://www.gartbook.com/patterns/spectre, CC BY 4.0.
GART's software is MIT licensed.
How should I cite GART?
GART by Leon Poole, https://www.gartbook.com. When referring to one pattern, link to its own page.
Contact
For a question, a correction, or to list GART somewhere, write to hello at gartbook dot com.