Rough.js v4.0 – hand-drawn, sketchy graphics

(roughjs.com)

307 points | by shihn 1546 days ago

9 comments

  • spankalee 1546 days ago
    If you like this, be sure to check out Wired Elements - a set of 20+ fully working, wire-frame style web components built with Rough.js (by the author of Rough.js): https://wiredjs.com/

    They're great for rapid wire-frame prototyping.

    • syspec 1546 days ago
      I’ve seen this attempted before to operate success, but this is the best execution I have seen of this idea!

      It’s dynamically rough so it’s different each time, but it’s not over done

      • shihn 1546 days ago
        wired-elements could be adapted to v4.0 of roughjs, which supports random number seeding. Causing the shape to remain the same, once generated.
        • ygra 1546 days ago
          You could do the same with 3.1 with generators, I believe.
    • grizzles 1546 days ago
      Rough.js + WE look awesome. I love that you can hand craft UI ideas in the same style if needed. Just curious - do you use any drag & drop tool with it for prototyping?
    • spectramax 1545 days ago
      Genuinely curious - why would anyone prefer this over just blocky normal graphics?
      • osel 1545 days ago
        I’ve found sketchy styles to be immensely useful in getting clients to focus on UX and structure rather than getting stuck on minor irrelevant details. My background is construction, and architects do the same thing with initial concepts.
        • seanwilson 1545 days ago
          Yep, it's super common that when you show a UX prototype to a client they'll hyperfocus on things you don't want them to focus on right now like the font choice or button colors. Making it look rough and muted can help.
        • spectramax 1545 days ago
          I never thought of it that way, that makes sense.
    • blondin 1546 days ago
      this is super awesome! thanks for sharing
  • hirenj 1545 days ago
    I’m using this in a scientific drawing tool that I put together - it was remarkably easy to integrate, and the sketch aesthetic is great for presentations or when you wish to convey uncertainty.

    I’m still hanging out for a browser implementation of Fiziko (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21651240) though, which would be a whole other cool aesthetic.

  • andreareina 1545 days ago
    Somewhat related: paper.css[1], a stylesheet for getting that rough look in your html components.

    [1] https://www.getpapercss.com/

  • andrenotgiant 1546 days ago
    If you have another library that builds SVG charts or diagrams, Rough.js is really fun and usually very simple to include.

    When combined with a handwritten font like humour sans[0] You can instantly turn a chart into something that looks more like an XKCD drawing.

    No idea why, but I find the hand-drawn look is universally more engaging for charts and diagrams, causing people to actually pay attention and ask questions. It looks like some of the example links[1] need updating. But the WiredJS[2] site is a good demo of the look I am describing.

    [0] https://github.com/shreyankg/xkcd-desktop/blob/master/Humor-...

    [1] https://github.com/pshihn/rough/wiki/Examples

    [2] https://wiredjs.com/

  • brandly 1545 days ago
    Excalidraw is built on top of this!

    https://excalidraw.com/

  • johnx123-up 1545 days ago
    • shihn 1545 days ago
      RoughViz is awesome, and it also used RoughJS for rendering.
  • golergka 1545 days ago
    I've just been toying with an idea of a canvas-based game and wanted to use hand-drawn graphics style – and with this library, it looks like I can save money on the art and have animations for free, too! Thanks so much for posting this.
  • dang 1546 days ago
  • RobKohr 1537 days ago
    It would be nice if I didn't have to have html elements for this, but instead it would be a js or css that you applied and all the normal elements would be automatically rendered in sketchy style.