Creative Coding Algorithms
The Generative Artist Tyler Hobbs wrote an article about his new Generative Art Algorithm: Fidenza. There is 0 code talk in the article so take a look even if you aren’t a coder. It’s amazing to learn how a piece of code can have so many different controls and variations. Each thoughtfully planned and configured to stand on its own and work together with its siblings. But the more amazing part is that it validates a feeling I’ve been having.
Lately, whenever I see a code tutorial or blog post I scan it for tricks. For example this post Trigonometry in CSS and JavaScript: Beyond Triangles allowed me to create a utility for creating shapes with any number of sides from Pentagons to 12 sided Dodecagons to infinity. (I should note that with this code any shape with over 300 sides essentially looks like a circle). This process of cultivating and stashing away tricks is a big part of practice. I’ve created a grab bag of tricks to apply to new Graphics and each one greatly expands the possibilities of the art I can create. For example all of these Graphics use a trick I found to calculate the Arc of a Circle:
What Fidenza confirms for me is that it is possible to create algorithms out of this grab bag. In the long term I want to string together a number of different tricks and techniques and begin to create algorithms like this. In the article Hobbs says that he has been working on this technique for 5 years. For someone who is new to this field, it’s exciting to imagine refining a piece of software for that long. It’s exciting to think about how polished and plentiful my bag of tricks will be in 5 years time. Maybe by then we will have even more Creative Coding Algorithms in the world to be inspired by.
