i’ve been using Blender for some time now as i decided to get back into the visual world. i’m no expert whatsoever (read: really basic level) but combining it with photoshop, real pictures/videos one can get good results.
it probably depends much on what the outcome should be/how much time you want to spend/invest into learning to use a new tool, it wouldn’t probably take too long to get to know at least how the basics work.
no coding needed, although one can also use python within the software and there’s plenty of resources available out there…and most of all: it’s free and crossplatform
edit: i had this bookmarked for some reasons, might come in handy (and maybe it’s been posted in here somewhere too) https://hydra.ojack.xyz/
Also worth checking out are Nodebox 3 and/or Nodes (no relation), both of which have the nodes-and-patch-cables visual programming paradigm also seen in TouchDesigner and Max.
Thanks a lot! From the first sight they look very interesting, UIs are minimalistic and clear. Good stuff!
upd: Played with Nodes a bit - very cool looking UI and feels quite comfortable. And much less “scaring” than TD or Houdini. Checked few presets and find myself patching some nodes same way as I play with my modular synth : )
Сaught myself thinking “it’s a pity that it doesn’t give interesting results each time I patch something to something like in modular synth”, but immediately realised that modular gives me interesting results because I know synthesis very well and know what results I should expect when patching and tweaking, also I know music and “trained” thru years how to make it.
So probably here it’s the same principle - to get really interesting visual results it’s good to learn basis - what kind of nodes are available, what they do, how they combine together etc… I know how programming works a bit - we used to learn some coding @school like 30 years ago, so I know basics and can understand syntaxis a bit. Hmmm… interesting, maybe I should take a course on this specific generative graphics to get some basic understanding of possibilites.
I spent a lot of time looking for a program similar to what you’re describing for my own personal use but never did find exactly what I was looking for.
Learning processing and/or p5.js seemed like the best option at that time, but some interesting programs being shared in this thread.
Might be worth looking at VectorRaster and PatterNodes from Lost Minds just for fun.
A bit off topic, but since we started to discuss coding…
What do you think, how fast is p5.js learning and what is the best way to start, does it takes decades or it’s possible to start doing serious things in a year or so after some express learning? I’m quite ok with self education, so maybe you can recommend really good and straightforward lessons or a book?
If someone asked me how to learn synthesis and electronic music I would suggest to get a simple mono synth, play it and start making small sketches with Ableton lite, but finish each one till it looks like a “piece of music”, so slowly they will get better and better. Does such approach counts here with p5.js?
For similar and better results try this: Whorld - Home
It’s free, PC only unfortunately, but available also as a plugin and simplified web version.
With some tweaking and midi controller it gets seriously crazy.
Totally. I learned Processing by working my way through the book Generative Design: Visualize, Program, and Create with Processing, which I mainly chose because the example images inside looked interesting and inspiring. By the time I was halfway through the book I was already knocking my own socks off creating personal projects.
There’s an updated edition of that book for P5.js but it looks like it’s out of print right now and prices are running high on the used market. So if you can’t get that book specifically, I think the basic approach I took still applies: just find a book that teaches you using example projects you genuinely find inspiring, and then just work through it methodically,
The whole point of Processing and P5 was for them to shorten the gap between initial learning and making actual work with code, and they really do deliver on that!
I second the The Nature of Code by Daniel Shiffman.
A lot of great ideas in there which you could apply those both in generative art and music. All samples provided are write in Processing but once you understand how it works you could easily use it in any tools.
I would also recommend The Princeton Companion to Mathematics which is a encyclopedia of modern mathematics. The contents is quite hard tbh but it’ll definitely help you understand some of the highly used algorithms in the true fundamental level.
well, I did something, not as good as the fractals or other work posted here, I guess there’s a lot to learn about TD tips in tricks to make things look nicer but I sure can see myself fiddling with these things in the future
Cool : ) Would be nice maybe to make this shape 3d and let some sections move around 3d space independently!
I’m quite curious how to transfer experience of 20s - 30s avantgarde artists like Klee, Bauhaus artists, Kandinsky, El Lisitsky etc… into this digital generative environment.
As I mentioned before, I really like to make some abstract acrylic paintings. Often when doing it I see how elements “move” and “interact” with each other as well as I see some kind of “algorithm” or maybe “composition dynamic principle” behind it and really would like to see how it could be transferred into visual code.
