Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art

PROCESSING: CREATIVE CODING AND COMPUTATIONAL ART
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size(300, 300);
background(0);
int totalPts = 300;
float steps = totalPts+1;
stroke(255);
for (int i=1; i< steps; i++){
point((width/steps)*i, (height/2)+random(-2, 2));
}
Figure 6-6. Randomized point line
The function random(-2, 2) generates a random number between the range specified by
the min and max arguments passed to the function. Try passing larger and smaller and also
asymmetrical arguments to the function to see what happens. Also try changing the number
of points. This flexibility and ease with which you can experiment and iterate through
different possibilities is what creative coding is all about. It’s also the reason it’s worth taking
the time to code your projects efficiently, using well-structured loops and a minimal
amount of magic numbers. Perhaps you’d like the random effect to change over time as
well so that the line is not so consistent. Since the random() function is just looking for two
float arguments, you can pass those as variables. For example, the following generates a
particle spray (shown in Figure 6-7). Notice I added another variable called rand.
size(300, 300);
background(0);
int totalPts = 300;
float steps = totalPts+1;
stroke(255);
float rand = 0;
for (int i=1; i< steps; i++){
point((width/steps)*i, (height/2)+random(-rand, rand));
rand+=.2;
}