What started as a technical challenge, how to make a 6-axis industrial arm wield a paintbrush with human delicacy, has turned into a multi-year obsession with robotic creativity. From developing with Rob D Naja of Massive Attack to collaborating with UWE’s machine vision researcher Mark Hansen, this project explores the intersection of digital code and physical paint.
Initially I started with paint brushes and paints, with relatively simple image processing to deconstruct digital images into paint strokes.
Examples of Paint Brush Work
Below are some exmaples of brush work achieved by the robot. Algorithms have been developed to interpret existing work and plan paint stroke trajectories to achieve a human like application.
3D Collab with 11bybbs
In 2020 the system has was utilised as part of a campaign / collaboration with 11bybbs. Using spray cans with a mix of programmed trajectories and some stencil work, a high fashion piece of 11bybbs was modified with Massive Attack Mezzanine black paint.
Beyond The Streets exhibition : Saatchi 2023
During the summer of 2023 Rob/3D presented work which comprised 3 existing Mickey Mouse inspired pieces which had been modified with robot spray painting graffiti text, to Beyond The Streets exhibition at the world famous Saatchi gallery in London. The work shared space in the gallery with the likes of Obey / Shepard Fairey, ZEPHYR and Beastie Boys.
The AI Pipeline: Collaboration with UWE Bridge Studio
Recently, I shifted focus from execution to generation. Teaming up with the Machine Vision team at UWE’s Bridge Studio at the end of 2025, we developed a new pipeline that removes the human need to manually plot strokes.
We built a system where an AI auto-generates imagery, which is then interpreted by our custom software into paint stroke trajectories. It’s no longer just a robot printing a pre-planned image; it’s a system ‘seeing’ a digital composition and figuring out how to physically manifest it. The challenge here wasn’t just motion control, but translation -teaching a machine to understand the texture and flow of a brushstroke.
Images and videos of this latest progression are in the works and will be added here soon.
Going Solo: The New Lab Setup
After years of building systems for other projects, I’ve finally bought my own robot arm to bring this work in-house permanently.
This serves as my sandbox. Without the constraints of client briefs or exhibition deadlines, I’m now iterating on the physics of the painting process itself—experimenting with viscosity, pressure, and more chaotic generative algorithms. Expect this page to get messy soon…
