Interpretation of a work by Timm Ulrichs to be run in drawbot app

timm_ulrichs_rotating_e.py

''' 
An interpretation of a work by Timm Ulrichs
see this blog post: https://letterformarchive.org/news/shaped-text
See other solutions in this twitter-thread:
https://twitter.com/MauriceMeilleur/status/1329218247594561538
'''

# ---------------
# S E T T I N G S
PW = PH = 400
amount = 25
char = 'e'
frames = 10
fnt =  'Helvetica-Bold'
# ---------------

cell_s = PW / (amount + 4)

f_str = FormattedString()
f_str.append(char, font = fnt, fontSize = cell_s * 1.55)

char_w, char_h =  f_str.size()
pth = BezierPath()
pth.text(f_str, (-char_w/2, -char_w/2))


for fr in range(frames):

    p_rot = fr/frames * 360

    newPage(PW, PH)
    translate(cell_s * 2, cell_s * 2 - char_h/4)

    for i in range(amount):
        for j in range(amount):
            angle = 0
            for r in range(amount):
                if (r <= i <= amount - r - 1 and r <= j <= amount - r -1):
                    angle = r
            with savedState():
                translate(i * cell_s + char_w/2, j * cell_s + char_h/2)
                rotate(angle / (amount//2)  * 360 + p_rot)
                drawPath(pth)

# saveImage('Timm_Ulrichs_rotating_e.gif')