README.md

(Perlin Noise) Flow Fields

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Code

Here's code for a simple p5.js demo of a Perlin-noise flow field.

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Technical Overview

Here’s an excellent Observable notebook with interactive illustrations of Perlin Noise flow fields:

Here’s Dan Shiffman offering an explanation on the Coding Train.

Algorithmic alternatives to Perlin Noise:

• Inigo Quilez noise examples
• Paul Bourke noise examples
• Simplex Noise
• Worley (Voronoi) Noise
• Value Noise, Gradient Noise, etc.

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Some Artworks that Use Perlin Noise Flow Fields

By Nadieh Bremer:

By Tyler X. Hobbs:

By Mark Webster:

By Lionel Radisson:

By Fred Briolet:

By Itay Niv:

By Julien Gachadoat:

By Caleb Ogg. Each circles is constructed from two identical spirals overlaid with a small offset. The direction of the offset is based on Perlin noise, yielding field-aligned interference patterns.

By Manolo Gamboa Naon:

By Aleksandra Jovanić:

By Jessica In:

By 90PercentArt:

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Blending Algorithmic Approaches

In this article, Tyler Hobbs shows how different algorithms (including circle packing) can be used to seed the initial positions of moving particles — which can affect how a Perlin Noise flow field looks.

In this example (YouTube) (discussed here, "Simulating 2D diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) with JavaScript"), Jason Webb shows how a Diffusion-Limited Aggregation simulation can be expressively altered, when the diffusing particles are not simply moving in a random way, but are moving along gradients of another simulation (in this case, a Perlin Noise flow field).