Next-Level Creative Coding with Shader Programming

Abstract

Creative coding is an artistic practice introduced in the early 2000s and made ubiquitous by a Java-based programming framework named Processing. This unique coding platform is now the de-facto standard of creative coding education for artists and students from a relatively less technical background. However, being a single-threaded coding language, the basic drawing functions of Processing does not allow users to take full advantage of the multi-core CPU and GPU commonly available in most modern hardware. The inability to take advantage of these resources often results in artworks that make sub-optimal use of computer hardware and perform sluggishly in terms of interactivity. This project aims to address this limitation by introducing the GLSL shader programming component inside Processing in an artist friendly manner.