Another ponarv (project of no apparent redeeming value) which demonstrates NodeBox's unique capabilities...

I was curious what would happen if I replaced segments of a path with alternating convex and concave quadratic bezier curves. The outline of a word provides the path (I break up the word into individual letters for a cleaner look). To create more tangles and knots I add a wiggle node to let the segment endpoints drift a bit. The whole thing is powered by a gentle sine wave which gradually tangles and untangles the word.

The final result nicely recreates the tangled mess that occurs whenever I shove a neatly coiled cord into my pocket. The effect might also be used to simulate refraction or create rippling waves for other objects to ride on. Video attached - for maximum enjoyment set it to loop.

There are many adjustments you can make:

- Change the word or phrase in the string node
- Change the font and font size. For the video I used the Bauhaus93 font at size 124.
- Change the kerning of the letters by adjusting the grid width. I made my letters overlap.
- Change the amount of wiggliness by adjusting the min and max of the wave function
- Change the speed by adjusting the period of the wave function
- Change the thickness of the lines by adjusting the stroke width in the colorizer node at the bottom of the network
- Reduce the unruliness by changing wiggle node scope from points to either paths or contours
- Adjust the granularity of the inflection points by changing the range step inside the QuadWiggle subnetwork

You could also rip out the string and textpath nodes and replace them with another source of paths from an SVG, combination of geometric shapes, etc. You could skew and rotate and scale the whole thing as well. Add colors! Endless possibilities!

Comments appreciated. Enjoy!

John