Processing is a great introductory programming language that can make generative art, interactive art, and drawing.
Copyright © Michael McMahon 2015-2018. Except where otherwise specified, the
text on Processing
by Michael McMahon is licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0 (International) (CC-BY-SA 4.0).
Processing is a programming language about making visual art. Processing is geared towards making interactive drawings with code. It works on Android, iOS, GNU/Linux, Mac, and Windows. Drawings can be generated from mouse movements, music frequencies, GPIO inputs, or web apis. Processing is one of the easiest languages to learn. Processing uses java syntax by default. You can also use javascript live on webpages through p5.js. Python syntax can also be used if enabled.
Installing Processing is very simple on most operating systems, yet people have trouble with the instructions for installing on GNU/Linux distributions. Here are scripts and instructions to easily install Processing on GNU/Linux systems.
Open a terminal, run these two commands:
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TechnologyClassroom/Processing/master/install-linux64.sh
sudo sh install-linux64.sh
Open a terminal, run these two commands:
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TechnologyClassroom/Processing/master/install-linux32.sh
sudo sh install-linux32.sh
Open a terminal, run these two commands:
wget https://processing.org/download/install-arm.sh
sudo sh install-arm.sh
These are scripts I have made or modified using Processing:
Generative art using randomly moving triangles of random sizes. These triangles have a calming and mesmerizing effect on the viewer. As this script continues, the result becomes more unique and beautiful. Run for an hour to multiple days. Hold 's' to save images.
JitterRotate is an experiment with semantic errors. Generative art using randomly moving triangles of random sizes, colors, rotation, and transparency. This sketch only takes about 30 seconds to peak. Hold 's' to save images.
Draw with squares, ellipses, and triangles. Shapes have random fill color, stroke color, stroke width, and size. WARNING: Contains flashing lights. Hold 's' to save images.
If you would like to run checks on your processing code, you can install Github's Atom text editor with the linting-processing extension.
To learn more, check out the Resources section of my Raspberry Pi Worshop for links and books about Processing. Also, check out the examples page.