Author: Ayesha Anwar

For my project, I decided to add an element of interactivity. I was inspired by the visuals that were posted. I initially intended to make an “experience”, where I could use randomized texts to create unique shapes, however, I decided to create a simple blackboard instead. The idea had initialized in the library rooms, where my friends and I were studying for Calculus. My peer started writing on the whiteboard, and he had to keep on erasing previous work to progress further, when I wondered “what if we had a digital white board? One that erases on command?”

//if pixel is active, check how long it's been active
if (pixels[i][j] > 0) {
  //stay white for 2 seconds
  if (millis() - pixels[i][j] < 2000) {
    fill(255); 
  } else {
    //time expired
    pixels[i][j] = 0;
    fill(0); 
  }
} else {
  //default state is black
  fill(0);
}

I am especially proud of this part of my code. It took me 5 hours just skimming through pages and brain-numbingly consuming youtube videos to figure out how to make my pixels change colour and stay and go back to default.

  //on left mouse press, activate the pixel under the cursor
  if (mouseIsPressed && mouseButton === LEFT) {
    //convert mouse position to grid coords
    let i = floor(mouseX / pixelSize);
    let j = floor(mouseY / pixelSize);

    //only update if inside the canvas
    if (i >= 0 && i < cols && j >= 0 && j < rows) {
      //store the activation time
      pixels[i][j] = millis();
    }
  }
}

I also enjoyed programming this part of m code, where I had to find the location of the cursor and change the pixel colour.

Overall, I think I incorporated the loops smoothly into my project, however, I wanted to integrate a “menu bar”, with and eraser and a pen colour. I hope to involve more complex interactions in my upcoming assignments.

Reas’ talk on chance operations fascinated me and made me reflect on how “organized chaos” is present in our everyday life, such as jazz. Jazz musicians often make up melodies on the spot, riffing off each other. There’s a theme, but most of the melodies come from being in the moment and catching the rhythm. That’s what I think most of Reas’ projects are where the “non-human agent” creates them; the experience or art comes to be by following a basic line of code to give a unique piece of visuals.

The video opened my eyes to how one can use randomness to be creative. Before watching Reas’ talk, I used to attach a negative connotation to “chaos”. That it means destruction. So rather than welcoming it, I would try to eliminate variables that would disrupt the aesthetics or homogeneity of my projects. I realized that allowing a little bit of “chance” would help me discover new experiences, such as attending a surprise dinner party would allow me to form relationships with incredibly, grounded people.

What stood out to me the most is the perfect balance and tension of chaos and order. Reas’ examples of using very simple shapes, like dots and dashes, or even a single line of code from the 10 PRINT program indicated that there’s beauty in a set of instructions mixed with randomness.

For my project, I decided to present myself from the perspectives of my closest friends. As in, I gathered all the descriptive words and little jokes they’re made about my appearance. Ever since I changed my hair and got bangs, I’ve been called “Dora The Explorer”, hence my avatar is inspired the character from the childhood show. Moreover, I can’t hide my expression, so if I’m feeling something, my whole face contorts to a completely different person, almost. I was told I “look a different race” when I laugh the hardest, with my eyes closed shut and teeth bared out, hence the title.

let currentView; 
//defining a variable, which is going to decide what is going to be displayed 

function setup() {
  createCanvas(570, 400); //making a landscape scene
  currentView = noLaugh(); //the initial view is set to my resting face, variable is defined to a value 

} 
                  
function mousePressed() //when the mouse is clicked 
{ 
  if (mouseX > 212 && mouseX < 350 && mouseY > 285 && mouseY < 400) //setting limits to where you can click to make the view change 
  { 
    currentView = meLaugh(); //initial view changes because the variable is defined to another value 
  }
} 
function mouseReleased() //when the mouse is released 
{ 
  currentView = noLaugh(); //view changes to initial setting 
}

In my work, the snippet that I found the hardest to figure out and code is the angle and rotation of “waves”, nose and basically all the features of my face. But a piece of code that I’m incredibly proud of is making my sketch somewhat dynamic. After watching some youtube videos, I had it down. Since I’m ticklish, I added that element into my avatar, where if you click the mouse in certain parts of my body, the display changes to me laughing, from the usual death stare.

Although creating this project was fairly simple, I’d like to work more on limiting the “mousePressed” coordinate to specific areas, using a nested function if possible, rather than just putting coordinates of a regular rectangle. I would also like to work more on making smoother shapes with shading, instead of blocks of shapes on top of the other.