# Attractor / Flow Fields - Bezier Line Drawing Echo/Depth Effect

**URL:** <https://discourse.processing.org/t/attractor-flow-fields-bezier-line-drawing-echo-depth-effect/9598>\
**Category:** Coding Questions\
**Created:** [March 25, 2019, 11:05am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/attractor-flow-fields-bezier-line-drawing-echo-depth-effect/9598 "2019-03-25T11:05:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![arvind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a6a055/32.png) [@arvind](https://discourse.processing.org/u/arvind)\
**Post date:** [March 25, 2019, 11:05am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/attractor-flow-fields-bezier-line-drawing-echo-depth-effect/9598/1 "2019-03-25T11:05:26Z")

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Hello!

Does anyone know how to create the imagery used in this attractor/flow field Processing animation?

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/evJXbCblb8g/hqdefault.jpg "Animated Attractor in Processing") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evJXbCblb8g)

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FozdNJVWYfo/hqdefault.jpg "Animated Attractor in Processing II") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FozdNJVWYfo)

It looks as though it is bezier lines but I’m trying to understand the process that makes them appear as though they are fading in and out of existences with depth or alpha variations and leaving trails or echos behind them…

And I’m guessing it’s either an attractor simulation or flow field but its still unclear how this output can be produced.

Is there a way of creating it wth just a few moving points (without the underlying simulation) ?

Many thanks

A

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**Author:** ![jeremydouglass](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/jeremydouglass/32/20_2.png) [@jeremydouglass](https://discourse.processing.org/u/jeremydouglass)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/attractor-flow-fields-bezier-line-drawing-echo-depth-effect/9598/2 "2019-03-26T19:05:14Z")

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Have you tried contacting the original author for their Processing code?

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**Author:** ![arvind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a6a055/32.png) [@arvind](https://discourse.processing.org/u/arvind)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/attractor-flow-fields-bezier-line-drawing-echo-depth-effect/9598/3 "2019-03-26T20:28:36Z")

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Yes but no luck. Since then the blog this was posted on has been replaced.

Have you seen this effect anywhere else with the source available? I’m not sure what it’s called to try and search for it… if it is just a way of animating bezier lines or if it’s something specific to attractor simulations…

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**Author:** ![jeremydouglass](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/jeremydouglass/32/20_2.png) [@jeremydouglass](https://discourse.processing.org/u/jeremydouglass)\
**Post date:** [March 26, 2019, 10:40pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/attractor-flow-fields-bezier-line-drawing-echo-depth-effect/9598/4 "2019-03-26T22:40:23Z")

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I’m not sure, but I think that the “fading in and out” might be because it is a particle attractor, so “lines” appearing brighter or dimmer= is a function of density.

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**Author:** ![solub](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/solub/32/333_2.png) [@solub](https://discourse.processing.org/u/solub)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2019, 12:34am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/attractor-flow-fields-bezier-line-drawing-echo-depth-effect/9598/5 "2019-03-27T00:34:29Z")

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Hi @arvind,

Just did a quick google search. You can find the original blogpost of this sketch [here](https://web.archive.org/web/20090910090136/http://leafcutterjohn.com/?cat=24).

While the author doesn’t provide any code he mentions the work of Dave Bollinger and [this sketch](https://web.archive.org/web/20081204123146/http://www.davebollinger.com/works/magnattractor/applet_magnattractor01/Magnattractor01.pde.txt) specifically as a good starting point.

Hope that helps.