FAQ / Why do you use Processing and p5.js for your teaching?
The Processing programming language has a long history and has gathered a huge global community over the last 20 years. Processing is the best documented and most widely used technology for creative coding. The principles of Processing are extremely well elaborated and have been adapted by many other languages.
At the same time, Processing is not limited to any particular medium and can be used for almost any output imaginable. With p5.js, there is now a stable technology directly from the Processing ecosystem that can be used to implement interactive experiences on the web. Processing is fundamentally much more than just a language. It is a way of thinking. And because this technology has been around for more than 20 years and is exceptionally stable.
I am a patron and tried to login in, but the i get an error message that my IP has been blocked. What’s wrong?
I am sorry for this inconvenience, I guess you tried to put your username and your password directly into the login-form on my website, right?
Instead you have to click the “Connect your Patreon” button to access the website. But that’s not a big deal, please try again in a few hours, then it will work again.
If not, then feel free to reach out to me, i am happy to help you by deactivating ther block.
This is a safety feature against brute force login attacks. Hopefully i will find a better solution for this in the future.
Do i need a background in coding?
No, absolutely not! It actually does not play a role anyway if you have prior knowledge in coding. My curriculum starts at zero with the first course Creative Coding Essentials.
What is Creative Coding?
That’s a great question! I personally like this definition:
(Creative Coding) is a process, based on exploration, iteration, reflection and discovery, where code is used as the primary medium to create a wide range of media artifacts.
Mark Mitchell, Oliver C. Bown: Towards a Creativity Support Tool in Processing. Understanding the Needs of Creative Coders. ACM Press 2013, page 143–146, cited according to: Stig Møller Hansen: public class Graphic_Design implements Code {//Yes, but how?}: an investigation towards bespoke Creative Coding programming courses in graphic design education, Aarhus 2019, page 13. Link
Basically, I wrote a whole master’s thesis on this question. You can read it in German and in English. If you don’t wan’t to dive that deep, you can find a more condensed definition in this chapter.
What course should I start with if I don’t have any experience in Creative Coding?
My courses basically all build on each other and the best way to start is with the beginner course Creative Coding Essentials. In it I explain all the important concepts and so you can work your way forward step by step, course by course. At the beginning of the curriculum it is quite important to roughly follow the order, later the courses will be a bit more specific and branched.
Do the courses and lessons have subtitles?
Unfortunately, I have not yet found an easy way to implement captions in my curriculum with a manageable effort. Nevertheless, there are texts in most lessons that go into more detail about the topic explained.
I want to follow a few of your courses; I was wondering how long on average they take?
That’s cool! The courses are not too long. The focus of the curriculum is, to provide a low barrier access to Creative Coding. How long it takes to go through a course is based on how intense you study and how much time you spent.
I have upgraded my level on Patreon from “Supporter” to “Student” but it looks like i still don’t have access to all courses. What’s wrong?
Hey, I am very sorry for this inconvenience, until now i was unable to implement an automatic user-level-upgrade on my website so this has to be done by hand when i get an automatic e-mail about this. I check for these e-mail regularly, at least every few hours. I know, this sucks! i am working on it!
You can accelerate the process by sending me a direct message on Patreon, then i’ll receive a notification on my phone.
Sorry again!
Enjoy the journey!
Why do you use Processing and p5.js for your teaching?
The Processing programming language has a long history and has gathered a huge global community over the last 20 years. Processing is the best documented and most widely used technology for creative coding. The principles of Processing are extremely well elaborated and have been adapted by many other languages.
At the same time, Processing is not limited to any particular medium and can be used for almost any output imaginable. With p5.js, there is now a stable technology directly from the Processing ecosystem that can be used to implement interactive experiences on the web. Processing is fundamentally much more than just a language. It is a way of thinking. And because this technology has been around for more than 20 years and is exceptionally stable.
How to connect my Patreon-account with Discord?
As a patron in the Student-tier, you also get access to the events on our Discord-channel. Therefore you have to connect your Patreon-account with the Discord-server. Don’t worry, it’s not hard and there is an easy tutorial for this. Once you have connected your Patreon-account with Discord, your username will become yellow. That’s it!
Do you record the online-events?
Hey, i love to hear that you are interested in our events. Unfortunately, I can not record tem, otherwise I would violate the privacy of the participants. I am very sorry!
Will I get direct support when I have a coding question?
Hey! I’d love to but unfortunately i don’t have the time to do so. But we have this very cool Discord-server where you can share your questions with the community. There are some very smart people in there who love to tackle complicated problems.
Are you open for freelance-projects?
Yep, basically i am open for projects and if i can’t do the job myself, i have a network of partners that i can possibly connect you with.
Just drop me a line!