Creative Coding with p5js

About this course

This course treats code as a creative medium.

Using p5.js, students learn to draw, animate, and build interactive work the way an artist learns a new material: by making things. Instead of learning syntax for its own sake, students learn to see code as a tool for a visual voice, something they point at their own ideas, not just at exercises.

Each student builds a series of original pieces, still images, motion, interactive work, and finishes with a self portrait that moves and responds to whoever is looking at it.

Along the way, they will develop an eye for color, composition, and timing, and the fluency to talk about their work the way an artist talks about a piece. By the end of this course, our goal is to give students the ability to truly "express themselves" through code :)

What you'll do

Part 1 (Module 1): Canvas, Shapes & Color Build a digital canvas from scratch: position shapes with coordinates, apply color and transparency, control what sits in front of what. Output: a series of still image sketches

Part 2 (Module 2): Motion Use variables and the draw loop to make shapes move, change, and evolve over time. Output: an animated sketch

Part 3 (Modules 3-4): Interaction & Final Project Use conditional logic and mouse or keyboard input to make work that responds to its audience, then combine drawing, motion, and interaction into an original self portrait. Output: an interactive self portrait, plus every sketch along the way

Along the way: reading code, debugging errors, and explaining your choices. The practices that make it code, not just pictures.

What you'll leave with

An artist's fluency with code, not just a list of syntax rules

Comfort experimenting, breaking things, and debugging on your own

The ability to explain why a piece works, not just what it does

A portfolio of live sketches and a final interactive self portrait, shareable by link

The ability to use code to "express yourself" :)

Who is this for

This course is for:

Curious beginners, no prior coding experience required (although some familiarity is helpful)

Students who want to bring art and creativity into their work, not just logic and syntax

Students who want to make something fun, expressive, and human for the web

This course is NOT for:

Students looking for a traditional intro-to-programming course focused on syntax alone

Students who want a primarily theoretical learning experience

Students who want grades or constant live instruction

Creative Coding with p5js

About this course

What you'll do

What you'll leave with

Who is this for