Author: Antonia Sirakova

What really stood out to me were the examples of how different everyday objects or nature can be used as inspiration for projects. I think that is because people’s minds are programmed to work with mental models or just things that they are familiar with. On a subconscious level, we are more likely to prefer something we already know (a pattern, a person, naturally occurring phenomena) over things we are yet to familiarize ourselves with, even if we claim that we are open-minded and love challenges. For example, I think that the thing he said about symmetry is very true. It may not look like something, but when we introduce symmetry to randomness, the brain starts recognizing the patterns.

With that being said, it is exactly because of that reason we think that “random” is wrong. But as the video mentions we should associate randomness with the unexpected rather than with the chaotic. The truth about randomness lies somewhere between order and chaos. It is impressive how much variety there is when we make minimal changes. I really enjoyed some of his examples of essentially “patching” already existing buildings or pieces of art. These small changes can have a huge impact on our overall idea and I deem it important that we delve deeper into exploring randomness as a way to create controlled varieties. To a certain extent I could see how that may apply to the usage of AI when coding. One may take inspiration from it, twist it, and produce something unrelated. It is our choice how we will make use of the resources around us but we should do it in an original way.

The video evoked some questions in me. Now I wish to explore how tiles with repetitive patterns seem to fit together, creating new patterns in the corners without ruining what was first there. Similarly to how we often feel inspired from the world around us, I thought about the traditional way this was designed and felt the desire to figure out how to do it with code. The video changed my assumptions about randomness and I hope to be able to use it in moderation in the future.

For this work I decided on a stylized and abstract approach. Prior to the making of it I had some failed experiments in p5 that laid the groundwork for my final idea. Some of that included the use of Boolean variables, but I could not envision them with the concept I had in mind, so I just played around with them.

The idea I am trying to convey is a couple that spends their time together at the park, sitting on a bench and I executed it to look like a time lapse. When the cursor goes from left to right the background changes from night to day and the Moon to Sun.

To do this I used a for() loop for the bodies of the two people and put them in two columns, so they do not combine. I used randomness in a few instances, but kept it very controlled, because I wanted to convey the idea of constant movement throughout the hours that does not interfere with the rest of the background. I used two different ways to change the colors of the background and of the celestial body that ultimately lead to the same result: if(mouseX>width/2) and if (mouseX>200) (the canvas is 400, 400).

Here is how my first tries looked before that. I had asked Gemini to help me with the two bodies’ code, but at the end I simplified it in the final product and let myself experiment.

Additionally, at first I kept the noLoop() because the movement was distracting me while working, but since it was a part of the process I decided not to delete it and put it as a note using //.

A code I am particularly proud of is the one I used for the bench. Even though it is not complicated, I felt that it really put my artwork together.

//Bench
  quad(230,262, 350, 262, 380, 300, 190, 300);
 rect(230,200,120,15);
  rect(230,220,120,15);
  rect(230,240,120,15);
  rect (350,300,10,50);
  rect (210,300,10,50);

What I would change in the future is to make smoother transitions like more colors in-between or using blendMode() for a sunset-like background. In addition, I would love to incorporate Boolean variables somewhere appropriately.

How Was This Made:

Gemini was used for my first trial. Also, I watched this video to better grasp the essence of loops.

When I first read that I have to make a self-portrait, I knew that I had to include some distinguishable features of myself. The first few steps were definitely slow-paced as I was still exploring options, revising from the slides and just experimenting with values.

Playing with the 2D primitives gave me a basic understanding of how p5 works and with each step I grew more and more comfortable with the layout, the functions and how everything works. The first few hours consisted of going back constantly to the reference sheet as well as the slide decks, because i wanted to repeat the process until it became familiar enough.

There was a time when i was thinking about what to do for my hair, so I decided it is high time I stopped constantly relying on what the references have to offer me. While putting different numbers in the bracket after rectangle I accidentally added one more than needed. This “happy accident” lead to the formation of a rectangle with rounded edges, which was perfect for hair. Then i added one more and moved them both until I had a dramatic side-part. What really helped me to understand where everything should be placed was visualising the xy-plane. Soon after that I started finding the exact coordinates with print(mouseX + “,” + mouseY);, which is significantly easier. Despite that, I believe it was needed for me to imagine it at first. Through this and simple math, I was able to make my collar symmetrical.

When I had done my face, hair, clothes, it was time for features. I exaggerated my big green eyes and figured a way to do my eyebrows thick, using an arc. I think I was going for a caricature as I knew that the end product will have little to no resemblance to me if it is not for those characteristics. I also used the arc from my eyebrow and inverted it to create my mouth. With other simple shapes I added depth.

What I am most proud of from this code is the flower rain, which while simple, felt like a big accomplishment.

textSize(45);
  text("🌺",x-200,x+100);
  text("🌼",y+70,z-250);
  text("🌷",y,z);
  text("🌸",x,x);

 

I kept combining things I saw in the reference sheet and tried to think of a way to make it work. I now see the potential and if next time I decide on a similar project, I would definitely approach it differently. I would do more flowers and would add randomness so it does not look so “stiff”.

No AI was used in the making of this.

How Was This Made:

https://p5js.org/reference/

https://p5js.org/tutorials/get-started/