Use Art to Teach Math

Art and math do not just produce static results but rather provide part of the dynamic interface of culture. For one article to attempt how to use art to teach math is just mind boggling! However, this guide contains some central principles and ideas for using art to teach math. With it you should be able to branch off from painting into other art and media such as interior design and decor, pottery, weaving, dance, cinema, video, digital art and fractals, photography, sculpture, wardrobe and costume design, jewelry and accessories, fashion, makeup, lighting, printmaking, commercial art and graphic design, comics and poetry and writing, drawing and engraving, music, theatre, graffiti, architecture, landscaping and beyond.[1] To get you started, this guide looks at a fresh interplay between (acrylic +/or digital) painting and the theory of Neutral Operations. While these projects won't be suitable for all ages and stages of math education, they will hopefully provide a range of ideas you can build off and explore, depending on where you or your students are in their knowledge of math and art.

Steps

Use Painting to Teach Math

  1. Realize that there are many motions involved when creating a painting. These can be called "operations" or "operators" in the mathematical sense, as they are like verbs in language. Exploring these concepts with painting and math-related projects can be really helpful for students in creating mental connections between art and math.
  2. Start with this basic computation project. Paint a square and paint one diagonal between opposite corners. Since the sides of the square are equal, they may be assigned a unit length of 1 and by the Pythagorean Theorem of a^2 + b^2 = c^2, the diagonal c = the square root of 2. However, if the equal sides are a different length, say pi = π, then the diagonal c equals π * sqrt(2). We can use the above yellow box method to approximate the value of the square root of 2, to be about 1.414:
    • You can then use the article Find the Area of a Square Using the Length of its Diagonal to find that the area = (d^2)/2 = [(π*sqrt(2))^2]/2 = π^2. The area of this square is π^2 square units and the sides are π units long. But you already knew that the area was π^2 because side = π and side^2 = area. π^2 = the area. The square root of this area is also an area, and its sides are sqrt(π) * sqrt(π) because its area = π.. Sqrt(π) = approx. 1.772,453,850,905,52 (with decimal commas inserted to make it easier to read that it's accurate to 10^-14) (where "^" means exponentiation, as is used in Excel).
    • As an extension of the project, center and paint the internal π square.
      • Question: Is the inner square's diagonal equal to sqrt(π)*sqrt(2)?
      • Question: Can you draw the Circle and Diameter that the original side π is the ratio between, since C = π*D, or C/D = π?
      • Question: If radius r is set equal to 1, then the sides of the outer square also = 4πr, or 2 circumferences of 2πr, correct?
  3. Do this Neutral Operations painting project. Start with the equation π*d = π+d = C.
    • Algebraically, solve for d:
      • π*d = π+d;
      • (π*d)-d = (π+d)-d;
      • d*(π-1) = π by factoring the left and simplifying the right sides of the equation;
      • d*(π-1)/(π-1) = π/(π-1);
      • d = π/(π - 1) and d has been solved for in terms of π and 1;
      • d = 3.14159265358979 / 2.14159265358979; d = 1.46694220692426, solved.
      • π * d = C; 3.14159265358979 * 1.46694220692426 = 4.60853486051405 AND
      • π + d = C; 3.14159265358979 + 1.46694220692426 = 4.60853486051405 √,
      • i.e. π * d = π + d = C and the "Neutral Circle" has been discovered!!
      • Let d=1.47 and C=4.61, given a ruler in centimeters.
    • Then draw and paint the Neutral Circle. Be aware also that because n*(π*d) = n*(π+d) = n*C, that any size or number of circles may be obtained!
    • Can you find another 'Neutral Circle' by solving for π*d = π-d = C? Can you find a third 'Neutral Circle by solving for π*d = π^d = C? Yes, it's solvable! Also try π*d = d^π = C as is solvable.
    • See article Create a Spirallic Spin Particle Path or Necklace Form or Spherical Border
  4. Try this imagining project: Imagine a painting in as much detail as you can, in groups of gradated pixels. Then count to 100, but do it in random groups: count from 17 up to 31, 82 down to 65, 0 up to 16, 54 down to 32, 83 up to 100 and 64 down to 55, resting for 15 seconds between groups. Activate then rest your mind, eg. in conversing and meditation periods, sleep and dreams; this is where the "seeds" of both art and mathematical ideas come from.
  5. Do this refocusing project: Look at some flowers in a clear jar or vase half full of water, but concentrate only upon the colors where the water, jar and stems are. Can you see the shadows of the stems on the inner walls of the jar? Do you know what the incidence and refraction angles of the light are as caused by first the glass jar and then the water? Move your senses, especially the eyes; here is how one one perceives the data's pattern(s).
    • Now create teams to look at phone book pages to find each 4 number suffix starting with a value greater than 4 on the page and highlight them with a yellow marker. Are they less than half the numbers on the whole page?
    • Now use a black marker to blacken all the phone number suffixes that start with a 7 or 9 and study the entire resulting pattern. Then check out the reverse side of the page where the markers have seeped through and see what information has been covered.
  6. Try this control project: Take a brush and dip it into water and put at first the least amount of pigment possible on it and make a circle on some paper, then add a little more pigment each time and make each circle just a tiny bit thicker and randomly offset from each other -- how many different size lines did you make? Stroke, usually brushstroke, but it could be with another applicator; here is how the data is "massaged" by the algorithm(s).
    • Construct an infinite programming loop and follow the value of the increment, if it increments by -r each time, 10 times. How long does it take for raindrops to become smooth again when they fall into a puddle if -6.28 is negative 2 pi r, the circumference of a circle of random radius r? (r's initial value = -1)
  7. Do this energy flows project: Breathe and be aware of your own subtle body rhythm(s); this is the essential space that flows between operators and values, data objects, pattern pieces, etc. and allows energy flows to occur. After several other projects, do this one again. Then, put on some salsa or jazz or music with a complex beat +/or melodic structure and create your own random calligraphic movements in response to it by writing freeform cursively in "jazz or zen calligraphy". Such random bursts of energy do occur in physics and mathematics but they are relatively rare.
    • You can translate this to the digital medium and create overlapping "burst functions f(x)" of variable x to create this sort of effect in Microsoft Excel, plotted in a smoothline scatter chart to obtain wonderful linear precision and exact symbolic copies, i.e. the fundaments of language. Bézier curves are also used in font design and typography. See perhaps if you can invent a painting medium that will react to a laser light pen? There must be some way to do that initially via a darkroom approach one would guess. Woodcarving is also done with lasers now, from which block prints can be fashioned. See article Acquire Bézier Curves Using Excel
  8. Tackle this popularity project: Travel to the art subject, especially for landscapes/cityscapes, etc.; this has to do with the transportability of the algorithm -- its utility. Think of which computer app, which is really just 1's and 0's, is the most popular program ever. And what is the most popular painting or picture or film ever? Is there any commonality between the two? Did Van Gogh paint Paris so often because he thought the paintings would sell well?
  9. Do this inputs and memory project: Rest and eat, etc., and engage in other activities which may input to your work; this represents part of the growth of the art or math work from seeds to full fruiting orchard. The idea is to be able to incorporate into the art regular and peculiar behavior patterns, just "being human" and the demographics of reality. Work on some math homework exercises for a little while and chew a very flavorful gum. Does the gum flavor help to remember the lesson better? In other words, step out of your demographic by changing your internal state.
  10. Do this time project: Create a painting using your fingers and fingernails for brushes but just the tips, very gently, slowly and carefully. Now find the solution to this problem as quickly as you can because time is of the essence, not accuracy: A man is twice as old as his son. In 21 years, how much older will he be than his son? Learn that time is what you make of it. Sometimes a reasonably good ballpark estimate is close enough for survival's sake.
  11. Do this correction project: Correct the previous finger-painting artwork work by cloth lifting, smudging, overpainting, etc. with a fine brush; this the detail correcting work in any discipline that throws out the unfeasible and unworkable portions. How many wrong answers did you get to the above man and his son math problem before you got to the correct answer of 15 years? Learn that trial and error is a tried and true method of problem solving although it may not win many prizes for being lightning quick.
  12. Do this looping project: Layer the work; this is like the looping functions and nested loops of programming algorithms. If you don't know about layering paintings or nested loops, do the research until you do. Try applying some clear gel to your work and seeing if you like the effect. Try adding a time value to a clock function in your nested loop and seeing if you can get your computer to tell time decently.
  13. Do this expression project: Teach math by using art by using verbs to describe the various actions that are taken from the beginning business side of shopping for materials, and then final marketing and selling side as well. Most artists shop for discounts but high quality work demands high quality materials that do not come cheap. Learn that managing money economically is necessary to surviving decently for most people. Draw simple icons or pictographs expressing the business transactions, with the verb in quotes underneath and a formula example from math as well. Modify the following article for art materials shopping: Use an App to Budget While Grocery Shopping
  14. Do this marketing project: Market to a unique and specialized aesthetic; this takes great skill in the "performance" (creation) of the piece; many artists enjoy classical music or complex jazz or improv harmonics to create by because it is conducive to achieving great statements with just the sufficient and necessary amount of detail, never producing anything overwrought. Just as E=mc^2 is simple and profound, so is the painting of Christian Rohlfs. Of course, Van Gogh had no idea that one of his paintings would sell for $53 million, but he may very well have valued it that highly, given what he sacrificed in life for his work -- something of society and his sanity, to be sure. Many people are now able to produce likenesses of his work, but his unique take on reality at the time was something he suffered greatly to achieve.
    • Do this project: Divide your canvas into the ratio 61.8% by 38.2%, twice, both vertically and horizontally and dramatize your subject(s) accordingly. This is one expression of the Golden Ratio, Phi (⦶), used at least since the Greeks in sculpture and architecture, and also by Michelangelo, Da Vinci and many other Masters. Computing the ratio with exactitude requires considerable effort on an artist's part, as it is (1±SQRT(5))/2 and is transcendental.
    • Likewise, many mathematicians suffer for their work, as their theories underlying great elegance can be extremely complex to apply fully. That is the value -- the universality, just as in physics, it is the universality of the principle or law that is so greatly admired. Some play the norm: There is also much to be said for marketing to a mundane popular sexual and violent aesthetic that placates the masses. No one is saying you will sell your artwork for a million bucks but you never know unless you try.
  15. Do this ratio (proportions) project: Read and do the wikiHow article, Do Common Ratio Analysis of the Financials and invent a drawing or painting which demonstrates with curves each ratio (lines are a type of curve). Be aware that financial ratio analysis is critical to the survival of many banks and commercial enterprises. Then, after a week, go back and look at the curves and see if you can match each artwork to its proper ratio. A knowledge of spreadsheets and charting in Excel will be gained in completing this project.
  16. Do this operations project: Think about the "verbs" or "operators" of math then: some common ones are +, -, *, /, :, exp(onentiation), log, etc. You can find more by googling "LaTex symbols". In art, we add in various ways, subtract/correct/erase in certain ways, create multiples and divide up spaces (creating proportions or ratios thereby). See the article Make Math Symbols on Your Mac (OS X) and the even better article How to Use LaTeX for Text Formatting
  17. Try this artistic math project: "Multiply" green over an area by covering many pixels with it or creating multiple plies of pigment. "Add" more yellow and blue to the composition perhaps to "balance the equation". "Subtracting" brightness (whites, yellows, light greys, etc.) will "reduce" the foreground. "Dividing" or breaking up a recognizable symbol or pattern bestirs a sense of trauma, alarm or tragedy perhaps -- it depends on how the contrast is handled -- Van Gogh often used outlining subjects to "positive" (often psychologically emotional) effect..
  18. Use composition to teach equations: A painted or mathematical surface pattern is an 'ar+Ranged' set of data elements, from the pixels of pointillism and digital art to the zones of Cubism and the lush brushwork of Impressionism. The "Domain and Range of a Function" are established concepts in pre-Calculus (research it if need be). A "Surface" may be comprised of a manifold of many like curves or contours, like the warping of gnarled redwood curves forms the surface of a beautiful table where roots or branches have grown over the years. By copying the works and curves of the Masters, an appreciation for their skill is acquired. (Notice the image is transparent on an Excel grid, for copying precision.) See article Paint Photos or Copy Masters Using XL Transparency
    • One of the uses of the Calculus is to determine the arc length or curve and another use is to determine the area under a curve or between two curves, which are useful capabilities for artists. In the Theory of Neutral Operations, if addition is held neutral to multiplication between the two numbers 5 and 5/4, then 5 + 5/4 = 25/4 and so does 5 * 5/4 = 25/4. The two verb-states of Addition and Multiplication, or actions, or operations (or even functions), are held neutral to each other in the equation between the two constant values. This is a special state, and a special set of numbers, the Neutral Set, is thereby created. Members of the Neutral Set for a+b=a*b would include: {(2,2/1),(3,3/2),(4,4/3),...,(100,100/99)}.
    • Artwork has been created using various Neutral Relations and the Neutral Set. That is using math to teach art. But once one sees that Nature can choose between ADDING a LENGTH (distance) or creating an AREA (surface) by MULTIPLYING, one can see the particular pattern of the Neutral Set is commonplace in Nature. Another neutral operation is to solve ab + cd = ab * cd = e, where ab and ccd are two rectangular areas, but with a little more thought and work might just as easily be triangles or combinations of forms.
 See article Create Floral and Other Images with Trig and Neutral Operations and notice how the left top part will close over and meet the right opening, to form a spheroid, or allow for organic articulation. Neutral Operations and the spirals of radius r = angle ⊖ theta have a definite role in biology.
  1. Do this neutral project: Paint a length of 4 units and another length extending at right angles from the base of the first length equal to 4/3 of a unit. 4 + 4/3 = 16/3 and 4 * 4/3 = 16/3 too. Imagine that the rectangle formed by constructing the other two sides is filled in of its area, so that 4 * 4/3 =16/3 is the area is true. Now the length of 16/3 equals the area of 16/3 if and only if the mass used to fill the entire length equals the mass used to fill the entire area, which is possible in Nature, and can be represented both in art and math. Do so now by carefully measuring out equal masses.
  2. Observe and copy Nature, as Da Vinci recommended an artist do. Through this exploration, you can gain the hard-won lessons that reality has forged from the infinite possibilities Nature had before her, given all the random collisions of particles and sub-particles. Van Gogh did something new with the new pigments industry provided: he "informed" nature with purified chemicals, and thus even helped to inspire Kandinsky and Abstract Art, which in turn played a role in inspiring Jazz. In rendering a still life, one may bring in for comparison the differing chemistry of the subject matter and the representative media by using chemical equations, and for art events, chemical processes which definitely have a mathematical aspect.
  3. Paint contours and asymptotes as accurately as possible, then see what you can achieve digitally using trigonometry. Refer to Create Spheroidal Asymptotes and Skewed Sphere Ring.
  4. Think of Chaos and Order when painting energy pattern flows and learn about Chaos Theory in math. Just as the gnarly knots of redwood seem to capture jetties of liquid water or fog the coastal trees often live in, the fractal spirals and standing waves of modern Chaos Theory in math seem to capture Nature's patterns of growth and decay. Spirals are everywhere: in quark movement in and out of dimensional planes, in the DNA double helix, in our body's organ development, in lightwaves and all electromagnetic radiation, and in the formation of the great galaxies and black holes.
    • One of the very simplest formulas, besides Identity (1=1), is r=⊖, radius r = angle theta, i.e. as the radius increments so does the angle grow, so the result is a spiral. That is, if the length of radius r = .001, .002, .003 .... then the angle grows from .001º to .002º to .003º and on around the circle, again and again. But the statement itself, the equation, could not be more simple: r=⊖ ... 3 symbols, from which one gets the idea of uniform growth and decay, depending upon the starting value.
    • Thus, by showing your students the simple tightly-woven spiral, you can use art to teach one of the profound formulas in all of mathematics! And it could come by basketweaving just as easily as from painting. In fact, given that the number pi is transcendental and infinite, it is not known whether there is such a thing as a perfect circle or whether it is actually a kind of spiral ... perfection is rather rare (it exists probably only as a Platonic Ideal and/or in Heaven in the Mind of God, and that is still a probability as far as is known). Many fractal algorithms are based upon self-iterative spirals.
  5. Learn and teach Form = Formula. (The etymology and definitions of "form" and "formula" are referred to in the References and Citations Section, below.) And the commutative principle applies: Formula = Form. Another way to state this may simply be: Art = Math and Math = Art. A deep derivation of the two word's etymologies would be revealing. Basically, start off with articulation=method, which is really pretty close to ⊖=r. Valuable lessons can be learned by researching the etymological derivations of words.
    • In terms of painting, suppose the subject is a Vase V of Flowers F on a Table T in front of Wallpaper W, with a light source L. L is "ambient" to V+F+T+W and there is also shadow, -l = -v-f (as the painting does not show any shadow of the table or wall). So if Ambience A= L-l = V+F+T+W-v-f, then all the subjects are really composed of light or shadow for the purposes of the painting. However, because the flowers are partially translucent, -f on V and T is not the absence of the hue but prismatically it's altered slightly. Light passing through a red rose has the red subtracted from it, so it tends to be more blue-green. Analyzing in this way, the full value of A can be arrived at for each section of the design, by carefully projecting rays from the light source, L.
    • What is often true, however, is that there are secondary sources of light and reflected light within a given environment, so keen observation of reality gives the practiced eye an advantage. That said, a given artist may desire to color the ambiance emotionally with "the blues" of despondency, or a very bright and cheery yellow! Van Gogh was known for his very pleasing still lifes of sunflowers and irises, set against colorful walls, as created very strong moods in observers, even though the detailed curves and contours of the plants themselves were perhaps only roughly rendered. To add such emotionalism mathematically is to change the chroma key of the painting and also to favor a rather blurry lens as far as the ray-tracing goes. However, even given the lack of detail, Van Gogh's brushwork resembles little flames often, and his paintings seem passionately full of emotional fire! This he accomplished by painting with upstrokes rather than downstrokes it's thought.
    • The point is, some emotional or psychological effects that seem to lack definiteness and mathematical precision may be accomplished by using the new "fuzzy math" perhaps, where 2+2=5, approximately, or exactly -- so long as one is counting the answer by 5's. In fuzzy math, each of the two's may count as a "half-integer" of about 2.5 but where the only integer known is 5. 2.5 is a guesstimate; it is a theoretical value only in this system, rather than one with which calculations may be made. Therefore, the problem fails to be answerable according to the postulates of the system. In terms of pigments, black is made of all pigments, so the theory that the absence of light should be painted by adding a little black to the pigment the shadow falls upon is a rather curious one. Pigments are additive but light is subtractive.

Considering the Mathematical Basis for Artistic Concepts

  1. Consider the types of brushstrokes one may apply. A brushstroke meeting the surface is an arbiter of pattern, just as in math an algorithm (or perhaps an individual series or function) is an arbiter of pattern. The book, "The Tao of Painting", illustrates Chinese brushwork for the beginner. Many Asian paintings contain a lot of very dynamic spatial form, i.e. chi energy! Either a brushstroke or algorithm may be empty -- take on the value of zero to work with existing canvas colors or even a negative -- picking up color off the canvas!
  2. Consider hue and/or value. Color Theory contains a lot of mathematical information. Colors have wavelength frequencies, which are measured numerically in hertz. Labelling colors with the hertz can be instructive for students. One can also google "RGB Color Codes Chart" and get the HTML, HEX(adecimal) and RGB codes for a given color in a color picker online now. RGB color space or RGB color system, constructs all the colors from the combination of the Red, Green and Blue colors.[2]
      • RGB ≡ Red, Green, Blue
      • The red, green and blue use 8 bits each, which have integer values from 0 to 255. This makes 256*256*256 = 256^3 = 16,777,216 possible colors.
      • Each pixel in the LCD monitor displays colors this way, by combination of red, green and blue LEDs (light emitting diodes).
      • When the red pixel is set to 0, the LED is turned off. When the red pixel is set to 255, the LED is turned fully on.
      • Any value between them sets the LED to partial light emission.
      • Considering that numbers equal colors, and they may also take on rational or even real values in spectrometry, ask yourself some questions. Can colors equal the square root of negative one however? Can they be imaginary? Yes, because raw electricity's spark can be a color and i, which is the symbol for the square root of negative one, is an imaginary number used in electronics. Or so it could be submitted. Students can be taught to calculate in hexadecimal or use an online converter. The systems color pickers are based on can be taught and are quite interesting. There is considerable consumer value in color picking in interior design and decor.
  3. Look at parallel ideals between art and math. Consider that in art, the ideal is (perhaps) the constructed aesthetic. In math, the ideal is the applied logic of theory (perhaps). One way of thinking about what the two disciplines may have in common is that their mutual output is PATTERN and FIT. FIT is a question of PROXIMITY and SPACE(s), which are concerns in Topology, regarding surfaces and much more in math. Pattern Recognition is an entire branch of study and science under Computer Science and also has to do with the analysis of intelligence. Art, fundamentally, is either Pattern Creation or Symbol Creation, or both. Math uses symbols once to describe the process and again to describe the data or form, generally speaking.
  4. Use gradation precision in art color theory to teach about fractions. When mixing 2 or more colors, an artist might use "a half inch" out of the tube of pthalo blue pigment with "a quarter inch" of naples yellow pigment to achieve as blended with the palette knife a certain green, and yet the final green on the canvas may have a center and then gradations towards the edges, or be brighter at the edges and be graded towards the center, or have a side brighter and be gradated towards another side or curve. These are essentially fractions. By having the student construct gradation charts, especially in watercolors, they are learning a very important skill and technique of control.
  5. Consider symbols. Take for example the common portrait, used by student and genius alike. What similar event is there in math? In math, there are formulas which are famous for their makers: Pythagoras, Newton, Einstein, et al. Can one find the Pythagorean Theorem in a painting? Perhaps, but it is probably more obviously present via the calipers used by the Greeks in their great sculptures to calculate perfect proportions for their gods. And, without the triangle of that theorem, there would be no such thing as perspective! The Chinese were painting very small men in front of large mountains a long, long time ago. There are layers of horses in the cave paintings of the Cro-Magnon and also people depicted by the Egyptians. It isn't perspective itself, but it is the interim idea working up to it.
    • That is, tied up in the very nature of layers and numbers is also the idea of distance, and so its symbol. Can one use the layers of the Great Pyramid at Giza to teach Math and Symbology? Yes. It's right there on the ubiquitous dollar bill! It's also in the fundamental idea of (decorated) clothing and status -- right back to animal skins and papyrus rolls, which were used for both art and math, i.e. trade and education and gifting.
  6. Take a minute to consider some of the processes art and math share in common as one matures:
    • 01) Learn basic skills for the pattern to create, e.g. a digital portrait using Bézier curves;
    • 02) Learn about the possibilities and limits of your media/system;
    • 03) Learn about the various theories and theorems (+ axioms, postulates, corollaries, etc);
    • 04) Do exercises, i.e. practice a lot to get much better;
    • 05) Imitate the masters and read everything - including the online state of the art;
    • 06) Think about areas that aren't explored yet, where you might make a contribution;
    • 07) Share progress with other professionals, per your specific area of expertise;
    • 08) Do more research, bringing in areas by analogy and metaphor - widen horizons;
    • 09) Invent own system and perhaps also symbology/vocabulary/style and create works!
    • 10) Organize the business and marketing and then conduct business professionally;
    • 11) Write a book or blog about what's been learned;
    • 12) Consider teaching and other ways of connecting with questioners;
    • 13) Get involved with children to see them bring fresh ideas to the work!

Using the Graphic and Math Capabilities of Microsoft Excel

  1. Explore some options for connecting math and art through the computer. There are many examples of this kind of project, but the following one is a great place to start.
  2. Open a new workbook in Microsoft Excel.
  3. Set Preferences. Be mindful that these settings will affect your future XL work.
    • General - Set Show this number of recent documents to 15; set Sheets in new workbook to 3; this editor works with Body Font, in a font size of 12; set your preferred file path/location;
    • View - Check Show formula bar by default; check Indicators only, and comments on hover for Comments; show All for objects; Show row and column headings, Show outline symbols, Show zero values, Show horizontal scroll bar, Show vertical scroll bar, Show sheet tabs;
    • Edit - Check all; Display 0 number of decimal places; set Interpret as 21st century for two-digit years before 30; Uncheck Automatically convert date system;
    • AutoCorrect - Check all
    • Chart - In Chart Screen Tips, check Show chart names on hover, and check Show data marker values on hover; leave the rest unchecked;
    • Calculation - Automatically checked; Limit iteration to 100 Maximum iterations with a maximum change of 0.0001, unless goal seeking (which is not anticipated for this project), then .000 000 000 000 01 (w/o spaces); check Save external link values;
    • Error checking - Check all and this editor uses dark green or red to flag errors;
    • Save - Check all; set to 5 minutes;
    • Compatibility - check Check documents for compatibility
    • Ribbon - All checked, except Hide group titles is unchecked.
    • View - Show Gridlines -- unchecked
  4. [Optional - Go to Tools-Macro-Record New Macro]
  5. Click on the Media Browser tool icon along the top of the Toolbar.
  6. Select Shapes.
  7. Select the S-shaped modifiable curve bly clicking on it with the mouse.
  8. Make a snaky and spiral shape by clicking where a new curve is wanted on the spreadsheet.
  9. Click on the curve and select menu item Format Shape.
    • Do Line - thickness 40 and gradient style Linear and make the right color yellow with the left color dark blue.
  10. Make sure that your shape resembles the one above.
  11. Optionally, halt your macro and inspect the macro to see the data points and actions recorded!
    • Learn how to use basic trigonometry to create graphic objects in Excel via articles such as the following: Create a Sin and Cos Circle in Excel and the guides in Microsoft-Excel-Imagery category.
    • The macro code that would result would be something like the following:
      • Sub Macro1()
      • ' Macro1 Macro
      • ' squiggle
      • ' (many nodes were cut out of this code to avoid extraneous length in this article)
      • ' Keyboard Shortcut: Option+Cmd+s
      • With ActiveSheet.Shapes.BuildFreeform(msoEditingAuto, 265, 77)
      • .AddNodes msoSegmentCurve, msoEditingAuto, 223.3333070866,
      • 102.6666141732,_ 181.6666929134, 128.3333070866, 167, 152
      • .AddNodes msoSegmentCurve, msoEditingAuto, 152.3333070866,
      • 175.6666929134, _ 170.6666929134, 198.1666929134, 177, 219
      • .AddNodes msoSegmentCurve, msoEditingAuto, 183.3333070866,
      • 239.8333070866, 184 _ , 267.6666929134, 205, 277
      • .AddNodes msoSegmentCurve, msoEditingAuto, 226, 286.3333070866, 281, 285,
      • 303 _ , 275
      • .ConvertToShape.Select
      • End With
      • With Selection.ShapeRange.Line
      • .Visible = msoTrue
      • .Weight = 30
      • End With
      • Selection.ShapeRange.Line.Visible = msoTrue
      • Selection.ShapeRange.Line.Visible = msoTrue
      • Selection.ShapeRange.Line.Visible = msoTrue
      • Selection.ShapeRange.Line.Visible = msoTrue
      • End Sub



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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://heptagrama.com/list-of-arts.htm
  2. ↑ http://rapidtables.com/web/color/RGB_Color.htm
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