We’re going to try a different sort of digital art today – GLITCH ART!
Usually when we hear the word “glitch,” we think of an unintended accident or error. However, glitch artists intentionally alter the data of files to create new works of art – this is called DATABENDING. To databend, you view the code of an image file and edit tiny portions of data to create errors in the image.
The glitch art creed is:
TAKE A FAMILIAR PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY & DO SOMETHING UNFAMILIAR WITH IT.
To learn more, watch the youtube videos linked on this site: http://teaching.ellenmueller.com/internet-and-art/assignments/glitch-art/
There are SO many ways to do glitch art, and so many tools! Have fun with it!
Usually when we hear the word “glitch,” we think of an unintended accident or error. However, glitch artists intentionally alter the data of files to create new works of art – this is called DATABENDING. To databend, you view the code of an image file and edit tiny portions of data to create errors in the image.
The glitch art creed is:
TAKE A FAMILIAR PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY & DO SOMETHING UNFAMILIAR WITH IT.
To learn more, watch the youtube videos linked on this site: http://teaching.ellenmueller.com/internet-and-art/assignments/glitch-art/
There are SO many ways to do glitch art, and so many tools! Have fun with it!
METHOD 1: EDIT THE HEX
All digital files are composed of binary digits, or bits. There are only two possible values: 1 and 0. This binary data is commonly represented in the hexadecimal system. Hexadecimal is a lot easier than binary for humans to read! The 16 possible values are 0-9 and A-F.
STEP 1: FIND AN IMAGE YOU LIKE AND SAVE IT
Do a google search for “free landscape art” or whatever you want. https://www.pexels.com/ has some good images as well. You may want to choose a smaller file for this project.
Save your image to your flash drive.
Do a google search for “free landscape art” or whatever you want. https://www.pexels.com/ has some good images as well. You may want to choose a smaller file for this project.
Save your image to your flash drive.
STEP 2: OPEN YOUR IMAGE IN HEXED.IT
Go to https://hexed.it/?hl=en and open your file. You are now viewing the RAW DATA of the image in hexadecimal format!
Scroll to the middle of the file and start replacing symbols.
Export your image frequently to see what’s happening! Eventually the file will be so glitched that software won’t know what to do with it anymore. Thankfully, there is an undo button!
WHY SCROLL TO THE MIDDLE? The first part of the data is the header, which tells software what to do with the data. Depending on the file type, sometimes there is a footer with a similar function as well. If you mess with the header, you may not be able to open your image later.
When you are done with your art, make sure to save it to your flash drive.
Go to https://hexed.it/?hl=en and open your file. You are now viewing the RAW DATA of the image in hexadecimal format!
Scroll to the middle of the file and start replacing symbols.
Export your image frequently to see what’s happening! Eventually the file will be so glitched that software won’t know what to do with it anymore. Thankfully, there is an undo button!
WHY SCROLL TO THE MIDDLE? The first part of the data is the header, which tells software what to do with the data. Depending on the file type, sometimes there is a footer with a similar function as well. If you mess with the header, you may not be able to open your image later.
When you are done with your art, make sure to save it to your flash drive.
The Computer Science behind Glitch Art
Check out these lessons and videos on BINARY AND DATA REPRESENTATION:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zd2xsbk
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zd2xsbk
Then, take your binary-denary-hexadecimal conversion sheet and play Flippy Bit!
http://flippybitandtheattackofthehexadecimalsfrombase16.com/
http://flippybitandtheattackofthehexadecimalsfrombase16.com/
METHOD 2: PHOTOMOSH
Now that you’ve seen how glitch art basically works, let’s try some more sophisticated tools!
Go to https://photomosh.com/ and open your file.
Click “mosh.”
You can also edit the settings yourself.
When you are done with your art, make sure to save it to your flash drive.
Go to https://photomosh.com/ and open your file.
Click “mosh.”
You can also edit the settings yourself.
When you are done with your art, make sure to save it to your flash drive.
other online tools
Image glitch tool: https://snorpey.github.io/jpg-glitch/
snorpey’s javascript experiments: http://snorpey.github.io/experiments/
GLITCHATRON: http://www.errozero.co.uk/glitchatron
There are many other tools out there! Try googling “glitch art online”.
snorpey’s javascript experiments: http://snorpey.github.io/experiments/
GLITCHATRON: http://www.errozero.co.uk/glitchatron
There are many other tools out there! Try googling “glitch art online”.
METHOD 3: GIMP
You can also make Glitch art in GIMP!
https://steemit.com/art/@lauralemons/how-to-create-glitch-effects-using-gimp-tutorial
https://steemit.com/art/@lauralemons/how-to-create-glitch-effects-using-gimp-tutorial
Try googling "glitch art gimp" for other tutorials!