> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.taivo.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # DIY parametric wall art: plans to production - URL: https://www.taivo.ai/parametric-wall-art/ - Published: 2024-08-03T12:18:35.000Z - Updated: 2026-07-27T11:08:01.000Z - Author: Taivo Pungas - Tags: Everything else Watching Youtube woodworking videos is my guilty pleasure. But until now, I'd had little opportunity to make something myself: no space for a workshop in my small apartment and a busy family/work schedule haven't really allowed it. Recently on summer vacation I had an idea though: I could outsource most of the difficult parts of production, if I can come up with a clever enough design. Parametric wall art was a great fit: the cutting can be entirely outsourced to a CNC/laser service, leaving only the finishing and assembly to me – something I could easily do in a spare bedroom. ![Finished parametric wall piece mounted on the wall, pale wood slats forming a rippled relief](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/81bDOf56WvL.jpg) ![The finished piece lit from the side, raking light exaggerating the depth of each slat](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/5ac3dd60efc10b9affe676c634c9221f.jpg) ![Completed piece installed on a wall with indirect accent lighting behind it](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/20231027_163731.jpg) Examples of parametric wall art But the "parametric" part of this style of art seemed a bit boring to me. Instead of using a geometric form, could I make my own? With zero 3D modelling skills it's a stretch, but one thing I can do: write code. So I wrote a piece of software to take any image, and output a list of cuts I can send to the CNC shop. Here's how it works. I crop an image to the section I want to turn into a 3D piece, and estimate its depth. ![The source image: a 3D-rendered dragon head, front on, used as input to the pipeline](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/toothless1_orig.webp) ![Grayscale depth map derived from the dragon render — white is near, black is far](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/toothless1_depth-1.png) Left: original image (generated with DALL-E). Right: depth map for the dragon's head. From there, I slice it into pieces, making sure to leave gaps to achieve the style I am going for. ![Depth profile of every slat plotted separately, each normalised to a 0-1 height axis](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/toothless_sliced-1.png) We're not quite there yet, though. The slices are still in raster form, making them awfully inefficient to store and cut. So I vectorize and simplify the shapes for production. And to make it easy to assemble the structure, I add grooves into every slice, and two backing plates with small tongues for better alignment. ![Cut file: each slat as a red half-silhouette with mounting tabs, profiles varying across the set](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/v3_tongues.svg) With the cut list ready, I ordered these to be laser-cut from 3mm plywood, at a scale of 150mm vertically at a cost of 60€ in a shop in Tallinn. It's small, but I wanted to keep cost low while experimenting – and I didn't see my wife's approval coming any time soon for a large wall ornament in our apartment. At larger scaleI would CNC this instead, though in this case I'd make small adjustments to account for the constraints of a CNC, and the support needed for a heftier sculpture. When assembled, here's what the freshly-cut pieces looked like, assembled: ![Close-up of one CNC-cut slat showing its curved edge profile and the wood grain](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/IMG20240801175448-Background-Removed.png) But we're not savages. This thing needed finish. So I sanded, dyed, waxed and buffed it; then glued it all up. Here are a few work-in-progress photos: ![The cut slats as delivered, unpacked and laid out flat on cardboard](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/IMG20240802134800.jpeg) ![Delivered slats spread out, each with a visibly different curved profile](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/IMG20240802164109-1.jpg) And here's the final result: ![Slats stacked in order from above, the pattern emerging across the whole set](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/IMG20240803135415-Background-Removed-1.png) ![A handful of slats held stacked edge-on, showing how the profiles differ](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/IMG20240803135355.jpg) ![Partially assembled test section, slats threaded together before full mounting](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/IMG20240803135350.jpg) ![Assembled test section from the side, curves lining up across neighbouring slats](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/IMG20240803135400.jpg) ![Macro shot of the assembled edge, showing the curvature carried slat to slat](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/IMG20240803135411.jpg) There are many imperfections, and I would do a lot differently next time – for example, the laser cut lines really show up without sanding them down, and the wax finish stuck in corners. But overall, I'm happy I did it and happy that my design worked. The cost of laser cutting surprised me: for 8mm plywood (the thickest material the shop cuts and a \~2x larger sculpture) I got a quote of over 200€. And CNC'ing is not cheap either, I hear. In any case, I would love to do it again, on a larger scale. Since I don't have a place to put one at home, please let me know if you'd like to make something. I'd love to make the drawings for you, and share the tiny amount of experience I now have creating this style of "parametric" sliced wall art. Here are a few other pretty random examples which I haven't manufactured, to show what's possible. It's clear the whole system is not great with fine details (though I think it could be with additional work). ### Hamburger ![Hamburger photo processed four ways: original, depth map, horizontal slices, vertical slices](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/Screenshot-2024-08-03-at-15.16.42.png) ![Cut file for a jagged-edged variant, each slat a red half-silhouette with mounting tabs](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/hamburger.svg) ### Batman ![Batman mask processed four ways: original, depth map, horizontal slices, vertical slices](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/Screenshot-2024-08-03-at-15.10.49.png) ![Slat cut profiles for the sliced shape, drawn as red half-silhouettes with mounting tabs](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/batman.svg) ### Heart ![Heart emoji processed four ways: original, depth map, horizontal slices, vertical slices](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/Screenshot-2024-08-03-at-15.12.59.png) ![Slat cut profiles generated from the heart shape, as red half-silhouettes with tabs](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/heart.svg) ### Star ![Star emoji processed four ways: original, depth map, horizontal slices, vertical slices](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/Screenshot-2024-08-03-at-15.17.31.png) ![Slat cut profiles generated from the star shape, as red half-silhouettes with tabs](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/star.svg) ### Tongue ![Smiley emoji processed four ways: original, depth map, horizontal slices, vertical slices](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/Screenshot-2024-08-03-at-15.15.25.png) ![Slat cut profiles generated from the smiley shape, as red half-silhouettes with tabs](https://storage.ghost.io/c/4a/28/4a28c12b-061d-4fef-9be7-3d9f25838589/content/images/2024/08/tongue.svg)