Why You Can Draw a Cat on Your Computer

Retro cats & funny tech.
Patreon: www.patreon.com/Junferno
Twitter: Junferno
Twitch: www.twitch.tv/junferno
Discord: discord.gg/junferno discord.gg/WEykWbjkR2
Footnotes:
- In coloured image, a CRT may have multiple beams of RGB with different intensities to create a spectrum of colours. CRTs were later superceded by LCD, plasma, and OLED displays which are significantly cheaper and less bulky as they do not require a vacuum tube.
- Ivan Sutherland also created The Sword of Damocles in 1968 with the help of a few of his students. This was a head-mounted display and tracking system, considered one of the first augmented reality systems.
- One of the most important features of Sutherland's Sketchpad was that it could draw perfect lines and circle arcs from a draw path. This was via geometric constraints (e.g. the radius of the circle arc or the angle of the line), set by a combination of the light pen and push button inputs. Sketchpad also supported zooming and clipping.
- During the development of the Lisa and Macintosh, how a screen should look had not yet been standardised. The Lisa has a 720 × 364 screen with rectangular pixels. Atkinson advocated for square pixels, which did not end up making it to the Lisa but did make it to the Macintosh.
- While most raster systems at the time used 1 for white and 0 for black (much like a light switch on/off), the Macintosh did the opposite, to reflect the black-on-white design of the GUI (you set a pixel to 1 to write a black dot on a white page).
- Bresenham's line algorithm was named after Jack Bresenham, who developed the algorithm in 1962 at IBM for the Calcomp plotter, a sort of printer-like device that directly draws on a roll of paper using a pen (often just a ball-point pen) that strictly moves horizontally and vertically.
- A MacDraw file is called a PICT file, or a Picture, which is a sequence of QuickDraw calls. The buffer which stores the copy-and-paste image is also a Picture, even if copied from MacPaint. This is to allow for copy-and-paste to be shared across MacDraw, MacPaint, MacWrite, and any other applications that support it.
- While MacPaint was still called SketchPad (before MacSketch), it was also called LisaSketch.
- Because of the limited memory, MacPaint was programmed to fit in only 5,822 lines of Pascal with an additional 3,583 lines of assembly. QuickDraw fits in a total of 17,101 lines across 36 assembly files. The "Objects" referred to in the video are instances of Pascal Records.
- MacPaint also has rectangular selection, which selects both black and white pixels into a Rect which then gets passed to maskBits. This can be flipped and rotated by 90 degrees.
- While making MacPaint, Atkinson also attempted to build an early OCR tool that allowed for text to be edited after already being rasterised. This was eventually abandoned.
- MacPaint 2.0 and MacDraw II were released by Claris, a subsidary of Apple. MacDraw became MacDraw Pro and finally ClarisDraw in 1992.
- A major competitor to Adobe Illustrator was Aldus FreeHand, which had its own file format but could also make encapsulated PostScript files. Adobe acquired FreeHand in 2005, 10 years after being barred from acquiring FreeHand while acquiring Aldus in 1994. FreeHand was discontinued in 2006. Aldus also created SuperPaint, one of the first applications to combine vector and raster drawing by taking inspiration from both MacDraw and MacPaint. Today, professional drawing softwares combine vector and raster drawing (such as with vector/raster layers).
- Other application-level proprietary 2D graphics libraries also exist, such as Windows GDI/GDI+ and Core Graphics for macOS long after the original QuickDraw. Today, many of them have either been deprecated or very likely use 3D graphics libraries under the hood for many functionalities (such as OpenGL, DirectX, or Metal). Regardless, any optimisation from directly drawing as a 2D raster as opposed to drawing an abstract space is negligible. Photoshop allows for drawing with CPU or with DirectX/Metal/OpenGL, which is faster and with more features.
- Susan Kare later went on to design for Microsoft, IBM, Sony Pictures, Facebook, Pinterest, and Niantic Labs. Some of her other notable work includes the card deck in Windows 3.0 Solitaire.
References: www.junferno.com/references/#list-3
Photos courtesy of Folklore, Computer History Museum, Apple Inc., Wikimedia Commons, basalgangster
3D Models via Sketchfab courtesy of sev, Jakob Henerey, Paper Bandit
3D Models via Free3d courtesy of mahmed195, ingham18
Junferno is not endorsed by nor associated with any artists or creators featured. Artwork/video credits in video. EDIT: Unknown artist at 20:03 is Nek0Galleta.
Special thanks to the McGill Library, Internet Archive, Macintosh Repository, and my fellow editors on Wikipedia
Music tracklist: kzbin.info/aero/PLsTVaNk5lQHlq4hB124qTGlsrhyiAfqfR

[@ChessedGamon]

"The Lisa released in 1983, but just a year later, was the Super Bowl." This channel really captures the essence of losing focus during lecture for 3 minutes cause you thought you were following along.

[@fumingyang9837]

lmao

[@PokeShadow77]

all you have to do is replace "was" with "came" and it makes a lot more sense right

[@radiotomatosauce99]

if he loses focus for me, I don't have to do it

[@ctehuey]

This is incredibly important to our society

[@olegmoki]

and its future

[@jackthehacker05]

By Theodore John Kaczynski

[@lolcatwill]

@@jackthehacker05 junferno needs to make a video about ted k

[@mac6na6na26]

especially because we live in one

[@pladselsker8340]

​@@mac6na6na26 oh oh! you said the funny

[@scymension]

Congrats. You managed to put Neco-arc, Bad apple and bocchi references into an informative video.

[@kakyoindonut3213]

and steve jobs, and avatar the last airbender, and the entire history of cat arts

[@abdulrahimss]

What timestamp was the bocchi reference?

[@kakyoindonut3213]

@@abdulrahimss 17:50

[@rfgnmf-nmesofuehsdjfnrmeowfsdz]

Who is Nijika? For the blind, she is vision. For the hungry, she is the chef. For the thirsty, she is water. If Nijika thinks, I agree. If Nijika speaks, I'm listening. If Nijika has a million fans, I am one of them. If Nijika has ten fans, I am one of them. If Nijika has only one fan, that is me. If Nijika has no fans, I no longer exist. If the whole world is against Nijika, I am against the whole world. I will love Nijika until my very last breath.

[@eda230bbs2]

@@rfgnmf-nmesofuehsdjfnrmeowfsdz Nijika my beloved

[@BobBrawlhalla]

It's pretty crazy that Neco-Arc is so timeless and powerful that all advertisement for pre and post-Picasso death drawing programs included in-depth tutorials on drawing Neco-Arc. Thank you Neco-Arc.

[@MHX11]

Neco-Arc, our god

[@lolya8029]

as Junferno said "You have to wait 6 months to wait to see another video in this channel"

[@johnmarkther2218]

Oh my god its been half a year, time isnt real it isnt real it isnt real

[@I_HopeThatNoOneHasThisName]

​@@johnmarkther2218 relatable af

[@MrIfrit]

The fact that the fill tool is the bedrock of the lasso tool is mind blowing.

[@RinInABin]

17:51 HE DID IT HE DID THE THING

[@SuperGarryGamer]

he bocchied all over that rock fr

[@Jiixi]

HE DO BE ROCKING

[@majesticsquid5643]

The Lemon Neco Arc at 20:13 is actually an art piece I had commissioned! Her character design is based on a real outfit that I own. Very cool seeing her in a video like this!

[@plasmasupremacy9321]

The amount of jokes and way too high effort visuals in this video is amazing, so cool. And the April Fools joke was the statement at the beginning that this video is not about AI, it was about generative AI all along

[@OSDisco]

Your videos are so well produced and focused, it's a delightful delve into these topics and you're great at script writing and pacing too.

[@Turabbo]

This was your best yet dude. The pace was so good. It was almost difficult to keep up, but your concise explanations and funny visuals kept me running along lol

[@ezzermaya4082]

a lecture on early computer history in a way that captures the innovation and excitement of the period + earnest takeaways delivered in a deadpan tone + well-researched content + something to say about technology as a tool for creating art that's more nuanced than a lot of online conversations I've seen about AI art + managed to sum up art in the age of mechanical reproduction in approx 5 seconds + neko arc + bocchi the rock reference..... this is why I love this channel, well worth the 6 months

[@jiffylou98]

All your videos have one bit that is so underrated but kills me. "The Apple LISA is famous for having no one know about it"

[@d.ella.y]

I thought it would be an april fools joke video, but the guy actually delivered some banger content!

[@Valery0p5]

The OST choice was sublime. Maybe you should make a video about MIDI. Ps: to be fair videogames contributed a lot to the development of computer graphics too.

[@I_HopeThatNoOneHasThisName]

So opengl was created to make games?

[@tomaszkarwik6357]

17:11 Never have i seen somebody describe the difference between gtk and qt. And the kde vs gnome war in two sentences. This is awesome

[@AexisRai]

can you explain how the timestamp you posted is saying something about gtk or qt or kde or gnome

[@vurpo7080]

GTK started out as the GIMP ToolKit. Basically GIMP created a new UI toolkit for their app, and that became GTK. Krita is part of the KDE project, and GNOME was originally created as an alternative to KDE because of their licensing. That said, I don't think the video really touched on these topics. It just mentions GIMP and Krita existing. (Also they are technically made for different purposes; GIMP is for photo editing while Krita is for painting and drawing. Friends don't let friends try to use GIMP for drawing)

[@harrygenderson6847]

@@AexisRai He means just before the timestamp, so 17:01

[@zekiz774]

@@vurpo7080originally they had the same purpose. Krita just later became a drawing software

[@malpractical]

I've never been so invested into something that's gone over my head to such an extent ever before

[@xenotiic8356]

Sometimes it's really fun to be along for the ride!

[@Koigokoro3096]

Your videos are so well edited and packed with information that I feel bad for not understanding them

[@kakyoindonut3213]

don't worry, which is good because now I'm very motivated to code a paint program

[@punkrockvomit7344]

Come back in a few days an watch it again until you understand all of it.

[@Mostafamostafa-ge2cb]

That only adds to the rewatch value

[@zayicza]

Love the music choices, and everything layed out so digestibly

[@numbertumbers529]

Damn, you didn't have to flex on us with your drawing skills like that bro

[@peatral]

Love that Bocchi the Rock reference. One of the best scenes in the anime!

[@Nyexcellente]

This is like rain in the desert. Glad to see another one of your videos, homie, ty

[@greatwave2480]

I love everything about your videos! The visuals, the deadpan humor, the themes?? Perfect. Exactly what I need. Thank you.

[@MartinAsleep]

Amazingly produced video! The Bocchi 3D reference killed me

[@nixel1324]

For pretty much the whole video, part of me was expecting him to go "Remember the start of this video? I lied. AI art is [...]" as his sort of usual subversion of expectations. But I guess he subverted my expectations anyway by not subverting my expectations.

[@plasmasupremacy9321]

You'll be pleased to know he subverted your expectation one final time. The closing line was about generative AI I think: "Cats indeed are very silly, but what could be sillier than to forget artistry for the sake of its own consumption?"

[@Archimedes.5000]

But he did exactly that lmao

[@kakyoindonut3213]

@@plasmasupremacy9321 man that was deep

[@jiffylou98]

Happy April fools

[@sierranicholes6712]

i feel like the comments don't appreciate the absolutely staggering level of intelligence and humor in every one of these videos. like how do you know and understand so much and also are so funny

[@notSampra]

oh my god this is so true

[@awesomecaerwyn224]

Great Video! Now I learned why i can draw a cat on my computer!

[@mayukhbhattacharya8793]

No way he posted a full 20 min informational video on the mechanics and history of computer graphics just to describe how it all lead to neco-arc.

[@canhedotricks6078]

The drawings in this video are awesome, and I loved seeing that greenscreen face show up on the early macs

[@dabidoak]

The amount of effort, references, and information you squeezed into this video can't go unnoticed. Very well done.

[@nadotorn]

your videos are some of the highest quality and most engaging content i've seen on youtube

[@oepic7776]

Indeed

[@Ali_Alhakeem]

This was a very informative video about cats .

[@trevorkohan505]

If my professors were half as engaging as this man, I would have my degree by now

[@Juicebox-7]

I love how calamari inkantation starts playing like 6 minutes into the video

[@Tomentos]

still the best tech you tube channel, your videos style is unmatched and very informative

[@luxraider5384]

I find his videos a little bit too condensed. At the end of the video i end up just having a blurry idea on the subject.

[@Tomentos]

@@luxraider5384 what all his videos have in common is that they start slow and detailed and speed up towards the modern day versions of the same technology which spawned as an evolution of that very technology. It also kind of mirrors the accelerated evolution of technology itself which can be very confusing and too fast to keep up with in and of itself which i find humorously accurate.

[@xenotiic8356]

This is the best video essay as measured by neco arcs per minute

[@jeromedelrosario]

This is the computer science lecture I was looking for in the university. Also, nice nod to bocchi the rock.

[@coolbrotherf127]

What a great April fools day prank. Imagine Microsoft DOS actually existing.

[@4l3x709]

Cats have been so influential that the design of anime characters are based on cats 🐈

[@jorgejarai]

Come for Neco-Arc, stay for the lesson on computer history

[@Anarqism]

16:17 I like how it just hangs on this one image of garfield

[@lcs.1094]

21:05 "but what could be sillier than to forget artistry for the sake of its own consumption"

[@theminecraft4202]

you and Acerola give off the exact same vibes, like long lost youtube brothers

[@MarkFlores]

This is so cool, I finally found a channel that talks about this kind of stuff!

[@dysfunc121]

I remember thinking of CRT and electron guns as magic when I was a kid.

[@zeynabh]

This person is so talented, this video alone is a piece of art! I can't comprehend how he summarized and concluded it all,very impressive ✨

[@dingalong14]

Thank you for this informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking cat video, KZbin user Junferno

[@n0ta]

So happy to have a new Junferno video! As always, having a blast with the fun/info ratio displayed here

[@grantm.9109]

Holy. Cow. 10/10!!! No, ∞/10!!! I have been watching hours of KZbin a day for almost a decade and a half, and this is unironically one of the greatest videos I have ever seen on the entire platform. This is a perfect fusion of funny and fascinating, and the personality and originality of this editing/presentation/writing style is seriously unbelievable. What an immaculate gem of a video.

[@ponyphonic]

The cut from "green green" to Kirby was perfect.

[@willowtreeangel]

This is your best work yet. My god, it's beautiful.

[@paulimbacana]

i love this channel, please don't stop doing what you do

[@pladselsker8340]

It's funny when you realize that the "lame subjective stuff" is the most interresting part of the video

[@jno7]

This continues to be my favorite Channel

[@mineland8220]

Maybe the real april fools were the neko arcs we made along the way

[@Speykious]

"Object Oriented Programming, which is the idea that everything is a thing." As a programmer, Bruh

[@justsomenightowl7220]

As a digital artist, finndinng out about all this is so enlightening annd gives me newfound appreciation for my drawinf programs. I understand why gradients are difficult for you, Krita, I understand

[@Palozon]

Great april fools video! I almost thought computers were real for a second there

[@albertargumedo]

great cat drawing tutorial 😺

[@ianlulu]

its crazy how much of these things that were so hard to come up with and program we just take for granted now

[@zikavirustouhu]

i like how there was just this casual piano cover of 恭喜恭喜 playing in the background

[@Geosquare8128]

thank you junferno youtube channel

[@simonlinser8286]

This is nuts, I remember a lot of these programs here and never thought about any ofthis stuff

[@PiercingSight]

17:50 - You absolute madman. You rock!

[@handrew4813]

Cool vid, I'll probably have to rewatch it a few times to understand it.

[@DelPlays]

Dude, I never realized that Pablo Picasso died only bit over 10 years before I was born.. I always thought he was was around like 200 years ago, but he was almost alive same time as me. Somehow the fact that some of his more well known pieces are from over 100 years ago completely messed up the timeline in my head, but he just made them when he was quite young

[@name-nam]

ITS APRIL FOOLS, WHY IS THIS A GOOD VIDEO INSTEAD OF A MEMEY ONE

[@dynamitrex3975]

I DONT KNOW I DONT KNOW

[@rosellarade]

see you next year for the next junferno upload

[@TauGeneration]

this video felt relatable technologically and spiritually

[@glowiboi]

"That's right, this video has no impleyment value." omfg my sides are in orbit.

[@АкакийБензолов]

that's the best video i've seen this year. neco arc my beloved

[@GoobertCrayon]

i have an interest in early games and early computing. Your description of the cathode ray tube helped me understand. thank you.

[@eti313]

First appearance of Iron Man (drawn by Jack Kirby): 1963. Pablo Picasso passed away in 1973. So, yeah, sometime in there. Anyhow; good job of research! It brought back a lot of memories and filled in some details I was not aware of, even though I was there.

[@jenny_azoth]

the long-awaited companion piece to Tex Talks' discussion of Homestuck as a programming allegory ❤

[@meaburror7653]

Just stumbled on this vid. Suscribed for witty humor and perfect timing with the jokes.

[@reed3274]

17:51 could instantly tell what was gonna happen from the sfx and jumped up from my chair

[@AkwardDummy4444]

You even have Omori music. I love your editing style and I hope more people can enjoy this beautiful history lesson

[@applesauce4938]

Babe wake up, new Junferno just dropped.

[@Mintirafro]

Damn Guile's theme really goes well with everything

[@SyncronedStuff]

Love how overcomplicated TV screens were back then.

[@noraaaaaaa]

id actually go to school for compsci if the lectures were all like this

[@YOUTY209]

How did the episode most directly related to bitmap drawing and pixel art not end with bad apple???

[@mskiptr]

Isn't 21:13 - 21:27 a bad apple reference tho?

[@ViviDotArchive]

I was very tired when watching this and I fell asleep for like 90% of this 10/10 video I barely remember it!

[@ENNEN420]

Being able to draw anime cat people with big peepees has truly changed my life. Thank you, very cool, technology.

[@dragononastring]

5:25 god calamari inkantation caught me so off guard I just thought I started hallucinating it.

[@leslie8470]

Ayo it's me, number one Junferno fan, here to say I really like this video, thanks junferno, very cool

[@blackboxtechpodcast]

We all love junferno :)) Glad you're alive still

[@VieShaphiel]

01:32 I got so distracted during this part by the Chinese New Year song lol

[@monika3603]

now that we know the lore of dijital painting MAKE A TUTORIAL ABOUT DRAWING NECO ARC

[@scotdotwtf]

amazing title, video, and thumbnail.

[@Anti-i25]

My day has been made with this upload

[@dustykh]

Friendship ended with Astolfo Neco Arc is now my best friend.

[@ItsPepperpot]

neco arc? on MY computer? it's more likely than you think

[@miroslavstoyanov4462]

I can't imagine the amount of the editing of this video took, due to the quality of the edits I assume the entire video was made by 1 person.

[@dylanp629]

I am terrified and will be unable to sleep for fear of neco arc

[@noaag]

Easily the funniest computer science channel I've seen, love the vids :)))

[@nulluh]

drawing cat is my favorite part of my day

[@lhynorris]

this is truly one of the videos of all time

[@bigbreasts]

The green green truly is the most colour.

[@bigbreasts]

No way he hasn't watched Avatar.

[@bigbreasts]

17:53 blowing screen when you get a strike.

[@qtulhoo]

Green green is most definitely one of the colours of all time.

[@Blazer-bn9ev]

This is it. I want information to be fed like this.