January 21st, 2025

Rafael Araujo's 20 Mesmerizing Geometrical Masterpieces (2024)

Rafael Araujo creates intricate drawings merging geometry and nature, emphasizing the Golden Ratio. His work includes adult coloring books and coffee table books, inviting public engagement and appreciation of mathematical art.

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Rafael Araujo's 20 Mesmerizing Geometrical Masterpieces (2024)

Rafael Araujo is an artist who merges geometry with the beauty of nature, creating intricate drawings that reflect his admiration for both. His work prominently features mathematical concepts such as the golden spiral and helixes, which serve as the foundation for his depictions of natural elements like shells and butterflies. Araujo emphasizes the importance of geometry in his art, stating that he aims to celebrate the perfection found in nature. His meticulous approach involves hand-drawing each piece using traditional tools, showcasing the Golden Ratio and its significance in the natural world. Araujo's dedication to precision means that errors are not tolerated, as he believes that technical execution must be flawless. He also engages the public through adult coloring books, allowing others to explore their creativity while interacting with his designs. Araujo's work is available in coffee table books, inviting deeper appreciation of the interplay between mathematics and art. His illustrations not only highlight the elegance of natural forms but also encourage viewers to recognize the complex patterns that exist in the universe.

- Rafael Araujo combines geometry and nature in his artwork.

- He uses traditional techniques to create intricate, hand-drawn illustrations.

- Araujo emphasizes the significance of the Golden Ratio in his art.

- His adult coloring books allow public engagement with his designs.

- A selection of coffee table books showcases his artistic vision and philosophy.

Link Icon 9 comments
By @dymax78 - 14 days
~10 years ago I had a renewed interested in perspective drawing, and was struggling with an 'exercise' that utilized curvilinear perspective & oblique angles. Anyways, I stumbled on some of Rafael's drawings and found their inclusion of the guide lines / measuring lines invaluable, but for the hell of it, I emailed him some questions. He promptly responded and then dumped images and reference material on dropbox for me - very nice guy.

Personal fav is "Dürer" that demonstrates Albrecht Dürers method of projecting a spiral.

https://www.rafael-araujo.com/product-page/d%C3%BCrer#

By @monkmartinez - 14 days
At first glance the "masterpieces" looked like a crap ton of lines and circles around a sketched shell or butterfly. You know, the kind you see when you tell Stable Diffusion to "sketch". Then I watched the video for a sec... WOAH!!! He is talking about a "formula" quite a bit... ctrl-f "formula" == 0 results.

Google: Rafael Araujo artist formula. Ahhhh! https://www.rafael-araujo.com/calculation

Now we are getting somewhere... and another that shows the process a bit better: https://hazelhomeartandantiques.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-cal...

Now I am trawling github to see if I can find some processing or similar libraries that I can play around with. Golden Ratio sketches, defining physical objects and shapes from purely mathematical constructions... I love rabbit holes!

By @Yestas - 14 days
I believe that we still know so little about nature and its laws. Sometimes it seems that we are moving in the direction of technological development instead of developing our knowledge about nature and aligning ourselves with it.
By @tzury - 14 days
By @Mistletoe - 14 days
Is the Monarch one based on a geometric way they fly or something?
By @gilleain - 14 days
Technically amazing - such fine detail, and of course precision. However ...

I recently heard the saying "a great artist knows when to stop" (it was Ben Afflek talking about AI art - I guess he was quoting someone?). I feel like in the case of these drawings, less detail would actually be better. More readable, perhaps.

Still, an impressive amount of effort for each one, given only straightedge and compass.

By @world2vec - 14 days
I own a framed print of the first one (the orange butterflies) and it's a delight.
By @mkl - 14 days
> he unfolds the significance of the Golden Ratio, showcasing its spiritual depth and presence within the natural order.

Yikes. The golden ratio has limited significance, nothing to do with spirituality, and little presence in nature [1]. Araujo's pictures look great, but in almost any of them you could replace the golden ratio with 1.6, 1.7, or 1.5, and get something no less beautiful.

The Wikipedia page is fairly good on this, especially the "Disputed observations" section: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio#Disputed_observat...

As a mathematician, fetishisation of the golden ratio bugs me.

[1] The main place is spiral arrangements of leaves, petals, etc. Vi Hart explains why (watch all three parts): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahXIMUkSXX0