Coral Garden

Reaction-diffusion corals bloom and split like living cells.

Generative Art · a single painted seed plus one Phlux rule, simulated live · 96×96 grid

The rule that makes it move

This is the whole thing. Phluxel runs it on every cell, every step — the animation is what happens when you repeat it.

LET _f = (255 - R) * G * G / 65025; R = R + 0.2 * (N.R + S.R + E.R + W.R - R * 4) + _f - 0.035 * R; G = G + 0.1 * (N.G + S.G + E.G + W.G - G * 4) + _f - 0.095 * G; B = {SAT, 70 - R - G}

Paste it into the Rule Editor, or pick Coral Growth (Gray-Scott) from the template list and skip the typing.

Make it yourself

1. Open Phluxel and start a new field, or click Coral Garden in the starter gallery to get this exact setup.
2. Turn Wrap edges on — this one is toroidal, so motion that leaves one side comes back on the other.
3. Press play. Change colours or numbers while it runs; you never have to stop and restart.
4. Export a seamless loop as GIF, APNG, MP4, a PNG sequence, or a sprite sheet.