iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

New blog post on my website! ptrgags.dev/update/2026-... The past couple weeks I've been haphazardly porting code from past projects to prepare for new stuff. Math pattern articles, math art, and more! #creativecoding #mathart #symmetry #spirograph

Three grids of white lines on a black background, each one rotated 120 degrees relative to the previous one. There are also solid yellow rectangles overlaid. Each rectangle is aligned to a different grid.

Screenshot of a hypotrochoid animation (Spirograph curve where the small gear is inside the ring)

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Horror music prompt: "why is there an eerie soundtrack emanating from my kotatsu?!?!"

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

That looks so cool with the purple blanket! The color makes me think either "fortune teller's table (cold weather edition)" or "altar for an arcane ritual that summons... Warmth". Just depends on the accessories! Perfect with Halloween around the corner

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Oh wait we already have Mime type in an RPG lol

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Now I want to see an RPG where magic and equipment use these as elements. Skeleton magic Mustard equipment (sprites are just regular swords but palette-swapped yellow lol) Etc.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The sacrifice: "They said they'd give me these pretty flowers if they could turn me into a balloon. Alas, even the flowers are filled with helium and are floating away. What a scam." *said in a squeaky voice*

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

At least, that's the long-term vision. There's still tons of code to port over. I'm letting the content drive that process. I want to keep making new artworks and articles. If past code helps express it, then it's worth porting. Otherwise, it can wait.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

One goal with this new website is to fold in some of my other programming projects into my main website. This way, instead of a confusing maze of sub-websites (ptrgags.dev/p5-sketchbook/, ptrgags.dev/webgpu-sketc..., and others), it's just interactive/animated content embedded in one website.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I also started a Patterns section as a place to document math patterns across art, music, programming, and elsewhere! These articles each include several animations.

Screenshot of the patterns page. There are two thumbnail images for the first two articles. The first one is a set of meshed gears labeled "Gear Tree". The second depicts something like a ruler for musical time, with the label "Musical Meter"

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I've been redesigning my website lately! Now I have a blog section (including an Atom feed). This gives me a place to round up links to the creative things I make all in one place. ptrgags.dev/blog.html

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Album title: Alpha Chrome Yoyo. I'm picturing your picoCAD model doing tricks with low-poly yo-yos

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Finished this cross stitch pattern of coral! I drew the pixel art myself in Aesprite #embroidery

Completed cross stitch project of stylized coral. The coral is red on purple rocks. The background is navy blue with white lines

Printout of the pixel art I drew for the embroidery pattern.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Some other keywords that might be relevant: - tangent space (tangent and bitangent vectors point along the surface at a single point). df/du and df/dv. - differential geometry - vector projection (closely related to dot products)

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

If parametric, you could certainly make a particle move around naïvely in UV coordinates. That would always follow the curve of the surface, but the speed will vary widely as the surface curves.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

How is the surface represented? Is it a parametric surface f(u,v), an implicit equation, something else? Are the particles always on the surface or are they just floating around near the surface?

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Almost there! Just two more columns of navy blue to go. #crossstitch #embroidery

Coral embroidery pattern, mostly finished. The coral in red, the rocks in purple, and the vertical wavy lines in white are complete. The background navy blue stitches are mostly done, there are just two more columns of half stitches on the left that need to be completed.

A "column" here is measured in blocks of 10 stitches wide

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Wow this looks a lot more fleshed out compared with last week! #embroidery

Photo of the coral cross stitch pattern in progress. The coral shape is now completely visible, though only the rightmost branch is fully cross-stitched.

The purple rocks at the bottom are almost done

The navy background is still in progress.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Similar to what I did with embroidery floss, I started the design process by picking color palettes. This creative constraint helped inspire some of the artworks. For example, purple, teal and white screamed "90s paper cup" to me

Lego tiles, 4 each in 8 different colors (dark turquoise, black, navy blue, bright yellow, orange, maroon, purple, white)

Lego tiles arranged into 2x2 pixel color palettes. Each one of these was used to design one of the 8 mosaics

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

To continue the theme of making my digital creations more tangible, I'm working on some code to export scenes as a PDF printout. Here I made a mini-zine instruction booklet!

Mini zine unfolded. Each of the 8 pages is a different pixel art design.

First row (upside-down due to the way a zine is folded):
90s "Jazz"
Abstract pattern with sine waves and dithering. It kinda looks like something you might knit
Jack-o'-lantern
Platforms over water like you might find in a video game

Second row:
Bloody knife (continuing the Halloween theme)
Stamp depicting a key
An abstract pattern in non-binary colors
An abstract pattern reminiscent of dripping paint

Zine folded as a little trading-card sized booklet

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I designed these with a custom tool I made last year, Mosaic Slider: ptrgags.dev/p5-sketchboo... It's a pixel art editor with the constraint that there is a fixed number of pixels in each color. You can swap pixels, but not add or remove them.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

And... Finished! I've been rebuilding the lego mosaics for my walls with new patterns. Clearly I'm ready for Halloween and it isn't quite September yet haha

Photo of eight lego mosaics slightly overlapping on a table. At the top, a mini zine shows two of the patterns.

Some are abstract, some are Halloween themed. One is inspired by the 90s Dixie Cup Jazz pattern.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I guess it'll be a while before we get to OKLCHsky...

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I've come across some fun Tetris variants lately from some of the game devs I follow. Like this adorable beehive themed one! www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?pid=bee...

lexaloffle.com

Bees Wax 🐝

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

For me the kind of arcade video game that gets me in the flow is pinball. But yes, Tetris is amazing too!

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

What concept(s) are giving you trouble? Maybe I could help explain/illustrate it a different way

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Progress update on the coral cross stitch pattern! I'm using half-stitches for the first pass, this way the shape appears rapidly. A second pass will turn them into cross stitches. #embroidery

Progress on the coral embroidery project, with the pattern printout on the right.

About a third of the canvas is covered with half stitches

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Amusingly, I also happen to have a pineapple on hand haha Phyllotaxis is such a neat math pattern in nature. Sunflowers, pineapples, petals, etc. These spirals are created from surprisingly simple growth rules! youtu.be/dvvJG6P3K_M is the best animation I've found on the subject

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I've seen several of your videos on Numberphile over the years. The hitomezashi one from several years ago is the one that I keep coming back to. I think because it's such a simple math pattern. It's very easy to implement both in thread and in code. So thank you for the introduction!

Hitomezashi embroidery pattern stitched on Aida cloth

Close up of a blackwork embroidery pattern with different patterns in a square grid. The pattern in the middle is a red and green hitomezashi pattern

Another closeup of an embroidery pattern. In green stitches there's a skewed version of a hitomezashi pattern. The columns are vertical as usual, but the "rows" are stitched at 45 degrees.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Happy belated birthday! Interesting timing, I just posted a hitomezashi pattern editor I made in PICO-8: www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=158...

lexaloffle.com

Hitomezashi Editor 1.0

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I thought I'd try posting a #pico8 cartridge to the official site. I'm starting with one I haven't shown off yet: a hitomezashi embroidery pattern editor! See the link below for a live version and more background info! www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=158...

lexaloffle.com

Hitomezashi Editor 1.0

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

As a creative constraint, I separated my embroidery floss into palettes of 3-4 colors (with varying lightness values). So now the creative prompt is: "choose a random bag and design an embroidery pattern for it". That's more manageable than "huge pile of floss, do something with it"

Embroidery floss skeins divided into small groups.

The same bundles, each in a separate plastic bag

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The other day I started a new cross-stitch project. I drew this coral pixel art myself in Aesprite, now to put it to fabric!

Start of a cross-stitch project of a pixel art coral, with a chart next to it. The chart uses four colors (white, coral, light purple, and navy blue)

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Oh this time around I think I get the combat mechanic: you're trying to connect 5 to attack? Are double bingos like a critical hit? I'm imagining variations inspired by Connect 4 or Tetris (drop only from the top). Maybe even Scrabble (connecting words, some squares give extra points)

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Huh besides the nostalgia, this seems like a cool reference for pixel art font design. Might try riffing on this in pico8 🤔

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I've been experimenting with PICO-8 lately. When I saw this I was like "hm, maybe it's time for me to look up how Sonic game mechanics work?". Like loops and curved platforms info.sonicretro.org/Sonic_Physic... -- I found this guide. Quite eye-opening and it has lots of helpful diagrams!

info.sonicretro.org

Making sure you're not a bot!

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

It's a solid start! I like the blue-green aesthetic.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

E.g. When I first heard Mike Shinoda's El Rey Demonio (youtu.be/ZMDMKRWtpn8), specifically the part around 00:30 I was like "this sounds like something from a Sonic game?" Yep, this track: youtu.be/jPOaM6L_Gcg I see now that the common sound is a choir sample pitched up super high

youtu.be

El Rey Demonio (Official Audio) - Mike Shinoda

YouTube video by Mike Shinoda

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

It amazes me how well my brain can dig up oddly specific sounds I haven't heard in a long while when given the right cue or connection.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

That's so cool! Acoustic instruments often come with bonus sound effects if you're willing to look hard enough haha At "air rushing through the shakuhachi" my brain immediately thought of the breathy flute (lower voice) in this track from Golden Sun: TLA youtu.be/Ay7UoBYpvOo

youtu.be

Gaia Rock (Golden Sun: The Lost Age Soundtrack)

YouTube video by Infinite Skies

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

wow, @alphachromeyayo.com's point about learning to enjoy the process is helpful! Makes me think of pan flute. It's surprisingly difficult to play compared to other woodwinds! I struggle to get a consistent tone. Yet it's still such a pleasing timbre, so even playing it wrong can be fun!

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

This one reminds me of a project I made some years ago about drawing machines! Such a fun concept to explore ptrgags.dev/drawing-mach...

Screenshot of Drawing Machines project depicting a line that spirals around the surface of a sphere.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Wow, that chomp is such a cool transition to a battle screen!

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

More seriously now, this was a fun topic for me. I am a bit interested in puzzle mechanics like this. E.g. as a kid my favorite RPG was Golden Sun. The environmental puzzles were really neat. There's definitely some overlap with sokoban mechanics!

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Wait, fishy, what are you... OH NO 😱 ...this is a _horror_ game, apparently??

You Win screen showing the hungry fish with blood dripping down its mouth. Plankson is nowhere to be seen 😢

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

including Plankson! totally unrelated to Sheldon. See? he has a mustache.

screenshot of the map with an arrow pointing out where Plankson is (he's tiny)

Pixel art editor showing a closeup of Plankson's glorious 'stache.

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

This was a fun one! as I followed along I was quickly reskinning things for a nautical theme.

sokoban game from the video, except you're a fish instead of a dog. the grass is seaweed. the cats are squids. the crates are chests. you pick up flashlights to scare off the squid. there are food pellets instead of bones

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Peter Gagliardi @ptrgags.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The original concept for this cart was "What's an unusual way to visualize a counter?... ah, tape reels!" and it evolved from there.

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