Processing: Creative Coding and Computational Art

curve segments
noFill(); // comment this line out to see how the curve fills
curve(p4.x, p4.y, p0.x, p0.y, p1.x, p1.y, p2.x, p2.y);
curve(p0.x, p0.y, p1.x, p1.y, p2.x, p2.y, p3.x, p3.y);
curve(p1.x, p1.y, p2.x, p2.y, p3.x, p3.y, p4.x, p4.y);
curve(p2.x, p2.y, p3.x, p3.y, p4.x, p4.y, p0.x, p0.y );
//control points
fill(255);
ellipse(p0.x, p0.y, 5, 5);
ellipse(p1.x, p1.y, 5, 5);
ellipse(p2.x, p2.y, 5, 5);
ellipse(p3.x, p3.y, 5, 5);
ellipse(p4.x, p4.y, 5, 5);
}
Figure 7-31. Controlling curvature using Processing’s curveTightness() function
All right, so that covers most of the theory part of curves. I realize it may have been a bit
rough to get through. One of my goals in this book is to try to provide detailed and clear
explanations of important concepts that are often not well articulated in existing sources
(that I can find). For example, in doing research on splines, I was amazed at how
inscrutable most of the explanations were. This was mostly due to the dense mathematical
explanations. The concepts themselves aren’t that complicated, but when they’re
explained as a page of Greek symbols, matrices, and complex graphs, well—you’re not
going to entice many artists. I also expect you to move through this material pretty quickly
(on the first read through), mostly just remembering that it’s covered in the book. As you
progress in your work and develop more coding chops, there will be times you’ll
need/want to deal with some of these more complex issues.
CURVES
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