A few years ago, I printed my generative art for the first time.

Generative art begins digitally. It is a secondary task to get the art printed, involving more time, cost, and effort. Why get it printed, when you can post an album of your art and get instant feedback? Here are some commonalities I see when seeing generative art online.

• There are a bunch of copies of the same piece.

• The colors are chosen randomly. They aren't related to each other.

• The artist focuses on the algorithm used.

The artist hasn't thought about what makes the piece visually appealing.

When I printed my art, I realized I wasn't going to pay to print a bunch of copies of the same piece, so I had to select the pieces that worked best. After looking at what I liked and didn't like, I made changes to the art to make it better.

I wondered why I didn't do that same winnowing down process when posting my art online.

Printing your art forces you to consider your artistic vision.

Think about what you want the art to be, and how you can get it there.

Your art will improve. You'll find ways of choosing colors that look good together. You'll shape randomness to give you targeted results. You'll make art that is visually appealing even to viewers who have no idea how it was created.

The more you think about your artistic vision, the better your art will become.

And whether or not you actually print it, keeping the option in your mind will improve your art.