Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art

PROCESSING: CREATIVE CODING AND COMPUTATIONAL ART
136
// allows ring to shrink
void mouseReleased(){
isInactive = true;
}
Figure 4-12. Moiré pattern
The final example simulates organic motion. The development of this example is also
worth describing, as it’s a good illustration of the power of “happy coding mistakes,” as I
described in Chapter 2.
I originally set out to create an example entitled Springy Serpent. I imagined a series of
nodes, connected by tethers, moving around the screen in a snake-like manner, with
springs controlling some of the motion of the serpent’s body. I’d solved similar problems
to this in the past, but I tend to not look at old code when I begin creating, and I couldn’t
quite visualize (or remember) how to pull this off. I don’t necessarily recommend this
“start from scratch” approach, and I’d say most coders take the exact opposite approach—
using snippets of their older code and not repeating the same mistakes over and over
again. One benefit of my illogical approach is the interesting stuff I find along the way. In
the process of developing the springy serpent, I made some initial logic errors in my algorithm.
I got some of the behavior, but not all of it. I also realized that I really needed to get