How can we use code to capture the unpredictable properties of nature? How can understanding the mathematical principles behind our physical world help us create interesting digital environments? Written by “The Coding Train” YouTube star Daniel Shiffman, The Nature of Code is a beginner-friendly creative coding tutorial that explores a range of programming strategies for developing computer simulations of natural systems—from elementary concepts in math and physics to sophisticated machine-learning algorithms.

Using the same enthusiastic style on display in Shiffman’s popular YT channel, this book makes learning to program fun, empowering you to generate fascinating graphical output while refining your problem-solving and algorithmic-thinking skills. You’ll progress from building a basic physics engine that simulates the effects of forces like gravity and wind resistance, to creating evolving systems of intelligent autonomous agents that can learn from their mistakes and adapt to their environment.

The Nature of Code introduces important topics such as:

• Randomness
• Forces and vectors
• Trigonometry
• Cellular automata and fractals
• Genetic algorithms
• Neural networks 

Learn from an expert how to transform your beginner-level skills into writing well-organized, thoughtful programs that set the stage for further experiments in generative design.

NOTE: All examples are written with p5.js, a JavaScript library for creative coding, and are available on the book’s website. 

No Starch Press | natureofcode.com

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Code as Creative Medium: A Teacher’s Manual: A Handbook for Computational Art and Design – Golan Levin, Tega Brain

This book is an essential resource for art educators and practitioners who want to explore code as a creative medium, and serves as a guide for computer scientists transitioning from STEM to STEAM in their syllabi or practice.

HOLO 1 – New Perspectives: A Survey of Perceptual Paradigms

Searching for agency in the post-Snowden era of mass surveillance and powerful computer vision systems, a cast of key interdisciplinary voices analzye eroding privacy, the proliferation of computational aesthetics, and our increasingly augmented realities. Also: artist encounters, a digital art history lesson, and tales from the dawn of computer graphics.

Generative Design: Visualize, Program, and Create with Processing

Opening with a gallery of thirty-five illustrated case studies, Generative Design takes users through specific, practical instructions on how to create their own visual experiments by combining simple-to-use programming codes with basic design principles.

Pathways – Julien Gachadoat

Instantly recognisable by his monochrome, line-based style, Julien Gachadoat, a.k.a. v3ga has explored the interface between code and human creativity for many years; working with algorithms, playing with repetition and abstract forms, with a focus on plotters to produce physical artworks.