itp oddities

week 1: disco orchid

PERSONAL REFLECTION:

My family has always encouraged me to use computers and explore that world, I still remember when my mom built herself a new PC and I excitedly was able to have a computer in my own room, which wasn’t exactly the most common thing in the early 90’s.

Like many people my age, I can trace the moment where I got really interested in the visual potential of code back to the MySpace days (RIP). I would spend hours finding new layouts, gifs, embedded music players, and other ways to customize my page each month. It was a never ending process of copy and pasting bits of code together to cobble together a piece of the Internet that was uniquely mine.

During my undergrad program at The New School I took some introductory level courses in coding for my Creative Coding minor with an eye towards creating 3D experiences. I have used p5.js, HTML and CSS, as well as some JavaScript and C# but at a very basic and simple level.

And while I have dabbled here and there and have an interest in code, I wouldn’t say it is something that comes easily to me.

This semester I want to become more comfortable with code so I can build my skills up enough to feel more comfortable exploring it as an artistic medium. Some examples of the kinds of projects I am interested in include:

Creating 3D visual experiences ❀ Live coding visuals and music for performance ❀ Generative visual art/sketches ❀

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

ASSIGNMENT // CREATE A SCREEN DRAWING:

My project is called Disco Orchid and is inspired by a beautiful orchid I keep near my desk at home. I am currently waiting for the plant to bloom again so decided to make a digital orchid flower via code. ❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

I started out with getting the basic shapes down and writing notes for what each part of the code represented as some of the shapes and their order could get confusing when looking at the code alone. This was particularly helpful when I was organizing the small dot detail towards the center.

Ideally I wanted a background change on mouse hover, but then while doing research on this I found a simpler option of generating random RGB values which would change to a randomized color upon click.

After grouping everything together I then decided on colors and adjusting the fill and outline of all the elements. After getting the flower all set I then added in a stem, pot, and table top to give it a better sense of space.

And thus, my beloved lil Disco Orchid was born. ❀。• *₊°。 ❀°。

While the drawing came out ok for my first go at it, I would love to be able to incorporate a couple of skills to revisit the drawing and improve upon it:

  • Faded Color Background
    I would love to be able to gently fade between colors in the background rather than the on-click option I currently use.
  • Bezier Curves For Custom Shapes
    The orchid flower has so many beautiful curved shapes that I was not able to make because I simply couldn’t figure out the Bezier Curves. I think this is something I will need to spend more time with and go to the Coding Lab for help on because this would open up so many more possibilities for drawing in p5.js!
  • Creating Gradients
    I looked into creating a gradient but couldn’t think of a way to set up the petals (I think this would be a great addition when I can make more specific custom shapes). Being able to have gradient colors would make the Orchid look a lot more realistic.
  • More Detail
    I would love to use this orchid drawing as a starting point where I can continue to build on and add more details to the original drawing as I become more comfortable with it.

Shout out to all the people who share their work with the world for the rest of us to admire and learn from! Here are some links I found helpful throughout this process:

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

Kalinda Panholzer
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