Code 12: Digital Experiments & Creative Coding Journeys

Where algorithms dance, filters transform reality, and machines occasionally refuse to cooperate

Finding Your Zone: The P5.js Experiment

There's something almost meditative about getting lost in creative coding. One of my favorite sketches emerged from a late-night session with P5.js online editor, letting the code flow alongside Autechre's "Rae" pulsing through my headphones. The track's intricate electronic patterns seemed to manifest visually through the algorithmic movements on screen.

Sometimes the perfect creative partnership happens between music and code.

If you're curious about the audio inspiration, you can find Autechre's "Rae" on YouTube. I won't claim my visualization does justice to the complexity of the composition, but there's something satisfying about translating auditory patterns into visual movement.

The Machine Rebellion: A4988 Driver Saga

In stark contrast to the smooth P5.js experience, my adventures with the A4988 stepper motor driver have been an exercise in technological stubbornness. So far, I've only managed to figure out reverse, step, and motor speed settings—and even with those, all my tests have failed spectacularly. 

If there's an A4988 whisperer out there, I'm all ears for suggestions. There's something humbling about being defeated by a tiny circuit board when you've just created flowing digital art in another medium. Perhaps this is the universe's way of maintaining balance.

TouchDesigner: Filter Obsessions

I've fallen hard for a particular TouchDesigner filter—one of those rare digital tools that just clicks with your aesthetic sensibility. This is definitely becoming my go-to for countless future projects. There's something magical about finding a digital tool that feels like an extension of your creative vision rather than an obstacle to it.

My experimentation continued with applying these newfound filters to "Insaan," a film I created from footage of Ahmedabad. The transformation feels like digital alchemy—the original documentary-style footage taking on new life through computational processing.

The juxtaposition between raw, authentic street scenes and their filtered counterparts creates this fascinating dialogue between reality and digital interpretation. Each frame tells two stories simultaneously: what was actually there and how technology reinterprets that moment.

I'd love to hear thoughts or suggestions on these experiments. There's something particularly vulnerable about sharing work that exists at this intersection of documentary and digital manipulation.

Particle Simulations: Digital Fluid Dynamics

The particle/fluid simulations have been a particularly exciting playground. When applied to video footage, the results have exceeded my expectations—transforming ordinary scenes into something between dreamscape and data visualization.

What fascinates me is how the algorithms respond differently to various types of movement and light conditions in the source footage. It's like discovering the unique "personality" of each simulation as it interacts with different inputs.

   

Paris in Color: Algorithmic Time Travel

There's something poetically appropriate about using modern computational techniques on vintage black and white footage of Paris. The colorization process creates this strange temporal hybrid—imagery that's simultaneously of the past and present.

The process feels less like "restoration" and more like collaborative creation across time—the original cinematographer's composition meeting contemporary computational interpretation.

Deep Dream Experiments: When AI Meets Illustration

My latest rabbit hole has been experimenting with Deep Dream processing on both photographs and illustrations. The results walk that fascinating line between unsettling and mesmerizing.

Running Deep Dream on a self-portrait creates this strange algorithmic mirror—the AI's interpretation of my face revealing as much about the algorithm's "perception" as it does about my actual appearance.

But perhaps even more interesting is applying these processes to my own illustrations—including pieces like my Samurai Jack tribute and the "Peeled Off" series. When you run an algorithm designed to find and enhance patterns on artwork that already contains intentional patterns, the result is this fascinating feedback loop of human and machine perception. 

Code as Conversation

What ties all these experiments together is the dialogue that happens between creator and code. Sometimes the conversation flows effortlessly (P5.js), sometimes it's a frustrating standoff (A4988), and sometimes it's a surprising collaboration where the output exceeds what either human or algorithm could create alone (Deep Dream).

There's something deeply satisfying about this blend of intentional creation and computational surprise—setting parameters and then watching as algorithms take those foundations somewhere unexpected.

Whether it's particle simulations transforming documentary footage or neural networks reinterpreting illustrations, these digital experiments continue to blur the line between creator and tool in ways that keep me coming back to the keyboard night after night.

Until next time, happy coding and creating. Let the mouse be your brush, the screen your canvas, and the occasional technical failure your reminder that even in the digital realm, not everything goes according to plan.