Contact Us

Department of Computer Science
Bryn Mawr College
348 Park Science Building
101 N. Merion Ave.
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010-2899

Phone: 610-526-5358
Fax: 610-526-7469
Department Chair:
     Dianna Xu
Technical Secretary:
     Nina Fischera

Processing: Creative Coding and Generative Art in Processing 2

Processing - cover art

Processing: Creative Coding and Generative Art in Processing 2
Ira Greenberg, Dianna Xu, and Deepak Kumar

Processing: Creative Coding and Generative Art in Processing 2 is a fun and creative approach to learning programming. Using the easy to learn Processing programming language, you will quickly learn how to draw with code, and from there move to animating in 2D and 3D. These basics will then open up a whole world of graphics and computer entertainment.

If you’ve been curious about coding, but the thought of it also makes you nervous, this book is for you; if you consider yourself a creative person, maybe worried programming is too non-creative, this book is also for you; if you want to learn about the latest Processing 2.0 language release and also start making beautiful code art, this book is also definitely for you.

You will learn how to develop interactive simulations, create beautiful visualizations, and even code image-manipulation applications. All this is taught using hands-on creative coding projects. Processing 2.0 is the latest release of the open-source Processing language, and includes exciting new features, such as OpenGL 2 support for enhanced 3D graphics performance.

Processing: Creative Coding and Generative Art in Processing 2 is designed for independent learning and also as a primary text for an introductory computing class. Based on research funded by the National Science Foundation, this book brings together some of the most engaging and successful approaches from the digital arts and computer science classrooms.

Welcome! We hope you find the book a valuable tool for teaching an introductory course in computer science.

Getting Started

Browse Inspirational Resources for Ideas and Share Your Own

Supplements by Chapter

  1. Diving into the Shallow End
  2. Art by Numbers
  3. Processing Boot Camp
  4. Creating Across Time and Curved Space
  5. Expressive Power of Data
  6. Organizing Chaos
  7. Creative Abstraction
  8. Drawing with Recursion
  9. Painting with Bits
  10. Expressive Imaging
  11. Spreading Your Creative Coding Wings

Course Repository for a CS1 Course

Bryn Mawr College and Southern Methodist University offered Introduction to Computing using Processing from 2010-present, and all materials including syllabi and sample code are available for those course sections here:

http://cs.brynmawr.edu/gxk2013/