First lab for computational art (CS1) using Processing where students write a program that creates a presentation of a creature in an expressionist style. The goals for this lab are:
- Understand the Processing 2D coordinate systems
- Practice creating shapes in Processing
- Understand draw order and command ordering
- Practicing using Processing
- Learn about expressionism
- Make a picture of a creature in an expressionist style
I recommend having students set up a pinterest account (or similar image sharing site) to share their creations. This provides students an opportunity to pin reference art (which I tie into the research phase of the engineering design process) and to pin final results and share their work more broadly with friends and family.
The syllabus and full list of lab assignments for this course can be found at the listed URL: http://users.csc.calpoly.edu/~zwood/teaching/csc123/2015/index.html
Art is a compelling context to many students. This lab introduces very basic computer science concepts and the development environment used in this course. Students see how they can use programming to create expressive art. This lab is graded by an in person demonstration of their final art piece to the instructor or TA which requires interaction. Within the confines of the assignment, students are allowed to chose their own creature and its expressive mood.