Differential Mesh is an extension of the Hyphae (https://github.com/inconvergent/hyphae) algorithm. I started working on it with the intention of mimicking the growth of (certain types of) lichen. The results, to me, are equal parts crystal-like and biological.

The algorithm appends triangles to the outside edges of the structure while it tries to keep themes from intersecting with itself. If the triangles are made small enough it will look like some sort of biological process.

The grid can be built in one of two modes. The basic one is the static mode. Once a triangle has been positioned, it will remain there forever. In the other mode the vertices will move throughout the process: They will avoid collisions with nearby vertices, whilst at the same time remaining close by their neighbours.

In order for this code to run you must first download and install these two repositories:

• render: https://github.com/inconvergent/render
• zonemap: https://github.com/inconvergent/zonemap

The code also depends on:

• numpy
• scipy
• cython
• python-cairo (do not install with pip, this generally does not work)

To install the libraries locally, run ./install. I have only tested this code in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, but my guess is that it should work on most other platforms platforms as well. However i know that the scripted install in ./install will not work in Windows

To install on OS X, you'll need to install OpenMP / Clang, and then have cc linked to that installation. So, in the differential-line directory:

$ brew install clang-omp
$ ln -s /usr/local/bin/clang-omp /usr/local/bin/cc
$ ./install
$ rm /usr/local/bin/cc

Also, you'll need to have pygtk installed to run the included files.

$ brew install pygtk

You should now have a working copy installed.

The code will probably work just fine under Windows, but I'm not sure how to install it. (Let me know if you get it working!)

If you find this alorithm insteresting you might also want to check out: https://github.com/inconvergent/differential-line.

http://inconvergent.net