My newest release features an array of retrograde hands and jumping hours. For lack of a catchy title, it’s simple named for it’s complications I always enjoy making retrograde dials because the process of working out the math and laying it out with precision feels closer to watch making than a lot of what we do which is more graphical arts. I love that too of course, but this is a different kind of satisfaction. Similarly making wheels is always more satisfying to me than text layers, I don’t always bother unless there is a clear benefit, as in this case where I wanted a particular font but needed to adjust the dimensions of some of the numbers individually to fit the window, so here the hours are on a wheel. For the minutes dial and date dial I incorporated the starburst layout into the indicator itself by laying out each to correspond with the appropriate degrees. The seconds dial is a 30 second retrograde mostly just for fun, but it also frees up space for the power indicator. Finally I also added a moon phase because I felt it fit in nicely.
Looks good.
I wondered if the seconds dial changed from 15 to 45 (or wasn’t there), the hand could perhaps travel backwards to 00 rather than snapping back?
thanks @dhemsley ! I’m not sure exactly what you’re suggesting in the first part. The second part I thought about and I was sure someone else was going to suggest it, but I thought that someone was going to be @ThaMattie Actually I’m kind of open to the traveling back part, though it was enough of an accomplishment for me to even figure out the 30 sec retrograde code myself I definitely would need some help with a sweep back code. But also the one mechanical watch I know of that has a 30sec retrograde snaps back (Chronoswiss Flying Grand Regulator ReSec - very cool watch!) So at least the snap back is mechanically accurate.
I did notice, and would have suggested the same, but I figured you’d already knew I would suggest that, and took that into account in your decision not to add it
If you need help just let me know.
@ThaMattie everything is so predictable isn’t it ?
here’s what I have on the seconds hand:
(-90 + (#DWFSS# %180))
I assume some utilization of interpAccel to sweep back? But I’m still fumbling in the dark with that so I didn’t even try. If there is a sweep it should be max 1sec I think. how would you code that?
If you find seconds more readable to play with, you can also make it: (-90+(180-(interpAccel((#Dsm#%30),0,1,1)*180))+(interpAccel((#Dsm#%30),0,1,1)*(#DWFSS#%180)))
Changing the 6 degrees in the top expression or 1 second in the bottom will change the sweep back time (you have to keep them the same in both accel expressions, or it will go over 30 seconds at larger sweep times).
0,3,1
The last number is the acceleration, i have played with it but haven’t seen a lot of difference.
Perhaps on large intervals you would see it. edit: I’ve tried values higher than 1, but apparently the last number should be 0 to 1, that totally changes the acceleration speed
updated for more elegant seconds hand return thanks for nudging @dhemsley and thanks for help @ThaMattie ! Also fixed the date hand which somehow had only 50% opacity.
True, maybe I will for minutes. Probably wouldn’t bother with date. The odds are pretty low that anyone will happen to be looking at their watch at exactly midnight on the last day of the month. But otoh, I suppose that would be kind of a neat Easter egg.
Not sure I’m as adept at test faces to show what i mean, so here it is in text!
top line is hand sweeping right, second line is hand sweeping left:
0__1__2__3__4__5__6__7__8__9…_29_30
60_59_58_57_56_55_54_53_52_51…31
so when the hand was pointing straight up it would be at 15 seconds sweeping right,
45 seconds sweeping left, like a slow metronome
Looks great resetting like it does with @ThaMattie code though
Thanks @Rator I have a lot of fun with the promo pics too. I was describing to someone in the Slack channel today that in a way, the promo pic is the final result of one aspect of the art project for me, that being the fantasy of materializing a real mechanical watch design, so the promo pic is sort of the end game of that fantasy
btw, if you haven’t checked out the Slack channel, though there are only a few of us regularly engaging, there’s a lot more design feedback and constructive back and forth over there than typically happens here in the forum.
I always enjoy making retrograde dials because the process of working out the math and laying it out with precision feels closer to watch making than a lot of what we do which is more graphical arts. I love that too of course, but this is a different kind of satisfaction. Similarly making wheels is always more satisfying to me than text layers, I don’t always bother unless there is a clear benefit, as in this case where I wanted a particular font but needed to adjust the dimensions of some of the numbers individually to fit the window, so here the hours are on a wheel. For the minutes dial and date dial I incorporated the starburst layout into the indicator itself by laying out each to correspond with the appropriate degrees. The seconds dial is a 30 second retrograde mostly just for fun, but it also frees up space for the power indicator. Finally I also added a moon phase because I felt it fit in nicely.
Actually I’m kind of open to the traveling back part, though it was enough of an accomplishment for me to even figure out the 30 sec retrograde code myself 
