The background for the painting was created using artificial-life ants that were selectively bred using genetic-programming. As the pattern evolved, there emerged an intriguing diagonal pattern that was saved to disk. Work then continued with the foreground. Later when attempting to retrieve the background it had inadvertently been lost.

Later, when the second background pattern (blue) began to evolve, the overall design and title became obvious. The tadpoles would emerge from the darker, bluish periphery into the light and move toward their "hub" or goal, hence the title of the painting became "Pursuing Destiny".

The background uses a larger brush with a softer, wet-on-wet, color-blending technique. The foreground tadpole pattern was the result of experimenting with swarming technology and tinkering with the rules for their collective behaviors.

The actual tadpole brushstroke was fairly complex. Each stroke is unique (as are all brushstrokes Dulcinea makes). The robot wrist performs a series of complex movements to capture the tadpole gesture in a single stroke. Each tadpole represents an important "note" of directional, visual energy.