It's the final workshop, doodadooodo. (I hope someone will get that joke).
This workshop began with some of the basics we've learned over the last week. We started with a very basic code that created random pixels on the screen, much like stars in the sky. This code included the usual construction with the void setup and void draw. We typed it all out from scratch which is really beneficial for someone like me that learns by doing. Repetitive processes are the best way for me to learn, which is why I take hand written notes. There is something about physically writing thing down that help me remember the things I'm being told better. Below is the code as well as a screen grab of the pixels after letting them run for around a minute.
The next step was adding a for loop, which I was incorrectly spelling "foreloop", which isn't completely incorrect since it does come before a function. But I digress. I'm not 100% sure how this works, but it does. From my understanding of what a for loop is, its purpose is to make the repetition of shapes and control that repetition. In the example Paul showed us, the for loop controlled a series of random, larger pixels.I believe, from what I remember, the point of a for loop is to run the function all at once instead of one pixel at a time, but I could be wrong. Here is the example we used with the larger pixels that appear all at once rather than one at a time like the above example. (The two screen grabs look very similar, but the trained eye will see the difference, I hope).
The next thing we did was using a for loop to create randomized, colored circles. This particular example utilized hues of green and blue, along with a blendMode called ADD. This, as the name suggests, is an additive filter which means it adds more to the layers, so you'll see the overlaps better. This was probably one of my favorite sketches so far, there is something about the softness of the circles that I found really appealing. I even used this as one of my final sketches but I'll get to that in a later blog. We added the noLoop function so it didn't give anyone a seizure, and used the mousePressed with a redraw to simply change the frame. It really is amazing that one line of code can do something as intricate as changing a frame. Mind blown. Anyway, here is the code we used plus a screen grab of one of the randomized bubble frames. Truth be told, I sat and clicked for ages trying to find the perfect one that appealed to me and I finally found one. I really like the balance of the dark to light tones, as well as the distrubition of color across the canvas.
In the next example we created multisided polygon type shapes using the for loop. We did so by randomizing a vertex function, which I admittedly had to reference check because I forgot what it was. But, it basically creates the shapes from different vertices within the canvas. We set the for loop to have 30 points, and then randomized the width and height, which gave an array of different shapes created with the redraw function. I also used a version of this sketch in my final. I'm still, for some reason, not fully grasping what the int i = 0 part means in relation to the rest of it. Following that up with i < 30 creates 30 vertices. and again the i++. I think it would behoove me at some point to have this REALLY broken down to brass tacks for me. I know why it works, but what I really need to know is HOW it works. And I'm not sure why that part is not sticking, but I'm sure once I have it explained in the most layman of terms, I'll get it...hopefully. Another part of this that was interested was adding endShape(CLOSE) at the end of the function, because if you didn't, you'd end up with just open lines. Here is the code and the example.
For the next example we curved the vertex with the curveVertex function. The take away from this for me was the huge difference it makes to add different strokeJoin functions. There are three: miter, bevel, and round. We added round to this particular example and it made a way less chaotic result. I actually decided to play around with the code a little bit while writing this and I have come to the conclusion that I, in fact, am just chaos. I absolutely do not like the curves with multiple colors. It gives me the feeling of tangled yarn, which, as an amateur knitter, makes me cringe. Ever tried to untangle wool yarn? Yuck.
I applied a similar color palette to this example as I did to my final, the difference being the backgrounds are switched around, and this strokeJoin is round as opposed to miter. Again, I sat and scrunched my nose thinking, "wow, I hate this," while also realizing I'm having a ridiculously visceral reaction to a bunch of lines on a screen.
The last thing we touched on was the artist Vera Molnar. Thaddaeus Ropac says of Molnar, "One of the early pioneers of computer art, Vera Molnár's radical systems-based approach helped establish the parameters for contemporary intersections between art and technology." (https://ropac.net/artists/231-vera-molnar/) She used really basic shapes and repeating patterns to create these aesthetically pleasing pieces of art. Our goal was to figure out how she did that. We started with a single line of pink strips. We then added another line, and a third. This is where we really started to utilize floats, which are yet another thing I don't have a firm grasp on, but I have an understanding of what they do. The end result was three rows of 20 pink strips, that looked very similar to Molnar's original. The top image below is Molnar's original, the one below is the result of this sketch code.
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