Princess Peach Pointillism

Step 4 Layout

Keep in mind that up to this point, no one had any idea what I was making. We were collecting and painting caps, but the overall image was not clear. Using the color codes assigned in the previous steps and another Perl program, I generated an image showing the location of each color code (like a paint by numbers set):

----000000000011111111112222222222
----012345678901234567890123456789
00: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
01: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF00F0F00FFFFFFF
02: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF0909090FFFFFFF
03: FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF0999990FFFFFFF
04: FFFFFFFFFFFFF0000669220FFFFFFF
05: FFFFFFFFFFF00AAA001627000FFFFF
06: FFFFFFFFFF0AAADDAA0000AAA0FFFF
07: FFFFFFFFF0AADDDADDAA0ADDDA0FFF
08: FFFFFFFFF0ADDAA0AADDADDADDA0FF
09: FFFFFFFF0ADDDDAA04ADDDA0ADD00F
10: FFFFFFFF0AAADDAA00044440AAD0D0
11: FFFFFFFF0A0ADAA0558000080ADD0F
12: FFFFF0FF00ADDD050888888880D0FF
13: FFFF0A00AADDAAA08018CCC104AD0F
14: FFFFF0ADDDDA00A001E1CC18004A0F
15: FFFFFF0AADA0C0A08EE0CC080440FF
16: FFFFFFF0ADA08C0A0CE0CC080440FF
17: FFFFFFF0ADA08C8008CCC8C8040FFF
18: FFFFFFF0ADA4088888CCCCC800FFFF
19: FFFFFF0AADDA4000588C22880FFFFF
20: FFFFFFF0AAAAA44405888880FFFFFF
21: FFFFFFF0ADAA44440008880FFFFFFF
22: FFFFFF0ADDA0000003700030FFFFFF
23: FFFFFF0ADA037770007BB000000FFF
24: FFFFF0ADDA037BB7030000300BE0FF
25: FFFFF0ADA03777BB7037770EE0BE0F
26: FFFF0ADDA037B70B7037B0EEEB0B0F
27: FFFF0AAAA0377B707037B0EEEB0B0F
28: FFFF0AAA40337733003770EEEB00FF
29: FFFFF0AA4403300050330EBEB0B0FF
30: FFFFF00AA44033058030EEBB0B0FFF
31: F0FF0AAAAA4400580E0EEEB0BE0FFF
32: 0A00AAAA4AA44400EEEEEB00BE0FFF
33: F0AAAAA444A44030BBEBB0BBEE0FFF
34: FF044444044444070BBB030BBB0FFF
35: FFF00000F00000333000333000FFFF

total caps needed: 1081;

If you squint, you can almost make out the image in the letters and numbers above.

It was at this point that I realized just how big this picture was going to be. Each cap is roughly 31mm in diameter. Given that all caps are a little different, I set the grid to 33mm squares. The final image ended up at 3 feet wide by 4 feet tall! Not exactly something you can keep on your desk.

I cut a piece of melamine large enough to fit the image and a 1 square wide border around it. Using a ruler, I marked out the grid and wrote in the values for each square.

I recruited my kids to help with the initial layout of the image. I had them start with the black caps and asked them to guess what the picture was. Half-way through the process, my fourth daughter shouted out, Peach!