A Gentle Intro to Processing - Coding for Artists

Processing is a very popular language designed to make it easier for artists and designers to realise their ideas in code.

Here's an example of what can be done with processing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDrc7Ieygjs

Here's what their own website https://processing.org says:

Processing is a flexible software sketchbook and a language for learning how to code within the context of the visual arts. Since 2001, Processing has promoted software literacy within the visual arts and visual literacy within technology. There are tens of thousands of students, artists, designers, researchers, and hobbyists who use Processing for learning and prototyping.

Processing has even won a few awards for contributing to the world of art and design.

p5js - Processing on The Web

We'll we using p5js (https://p5js.org), which is a version of Processing that works entirely on the global web. We'll also be using the openprocessing (https://www.openprocessing.org) site which allows us to create our art on the web too.

This means only a web browser is needed to create art. And a browser is all that's needed for potentially billions of people all over the world to experience your art.

Tutorial

In this tutorial we'll

• learn about Processing concepts like the canvas, colours, shapes, motion, the pointer.

• learn just enough of the Processing p5js programming language to be extremely useful.

• discuss algorithmic ideas like randomness, repetition, recursion ... illustrating each one with simple code and art.

• see how we can share our work with potentially billions of viewers who need nothing more than a browser to experience it.

• take some time at the end to show the art we've created (if we want to) and talk about how we created it.

Take your first steps coding for visual art - and join us for a fun and intimate tutorial - you really don't need any previous coding experience at all, just interest and enthusiasm!

Practical Stuff

This meetup is intended for complete beginners - you don't even have to have coded before!

You can arrive from 6.30pm for a 7pm start. There is free tea/coffee available from the CodeNode bar.

All you need to bring is a laptop with a modern browser (Firefox, Safari, Chrome) and working wifi.

Please make sure you also sign up on the SkillsMatter website too: https://skillsmatter.com/meetups/10153-a-gentle-intro-to-processing-coding-for-artists