WAVGEN — Creative Coding Canvas

CREATIVE CODING CANVAS

algorithms as art · code as medium · systems as expression

Click canvas to add seed · Seeds drift slowly

Max Depth 4 Click a region to subdivide further

Algorithm

A finite sequence of instructions that transforms input into output — the core unit of any generative system.

Canvas API

The browser's 2D drawing interface: pixels, paths, gradients, transforms — the substrate of web-based creative coding.

Creative Coding

Programming practice where the goal is expression, exploration, or aesthetics rather than utility or function.

Draw Loop

A continuously repeating function (typically 60fps via requestAnimationFrame) that redraws the canvas each frame to produce animation.

Emergence

Complex, unpredicted behavior arising from simple local rules — the hallmark of systems like flocking, cellular automata, and slime molds.

Fractal

A self-similar structure where each part resembles the whole at different scales — Mandelbrot sets, Julia sets, Sierpinski triangles.

Generative Art

Art created in whole or part by an autonomous system — the artist defines rules; the system executes them, often with controlled randomness.

Golden Ratio

φ ≈ 1.618 — the ratio where (a+b)/a = a/b. Appears in phyllotaxis, the Fibonacci sequence, and countless natural and architectural forms.

L-System

Lindenmayer System — a string rewriting grammar that generates fractal-like plant structures by recursively expanding symbols into drawing instructions.

Lissajous Curve

The path traced by x=A·sin(at+δ), y=B·sin(bt) — interlocking sinusoids whose ratio a:b determines the curve's symmetry and shape.

Modular Arithmetic

Math that wraps around at a modulus — used for looping animations, color cycling, grid indexing, and tiling.

Noise

Smooth pseudo-random functions (Perlin, Simplex, Value) that produce organic-looking variation — essential for textures, terrain, and natural motion.

OOP

Object-Oriented Programming — organizing code as objects with properties and behaviors, enabling particle systems, agents, and complex simulations.

Parametric

Geometry or form defined by parameters — changing inputs continuously morphs the output, enabling interactive and animated visual exploration.

Perlin Noise

Ken Perlin's 1983 gradient noise function, designed for visual naturalness. Its smooth continuity makes it ideal for organic textures and motion.

Phyllotaxis

The arrangement of leaves and seeds in plants, following the golden angle (~137.5°). Results in spiral Fibonacci patterns seen in sunflowers and pine cones.

Processing

A programming language and IDE built by Reas and Fry for visual artists and designers — the gateway environment that launched a generation of creative coders.

Recursion

A function calling itself with simpler inputs until a base case — the mechanism behind fractal trees, L-systems, and Sierpinski structures.

Seed

The initial value given to a pseudo-random number generator — the same seed always produces the same sequence, enabling reproducible generative art.

Signed Distance Field

A function mapping each point in space to the signed distance from the nearest surface — positive outside, negative inside. Core to raymarching and GPU rendering.

Sketch

In Processing/p5.js parlance, a self-contained creative coding program — analogous to an artist's sketch, built for rapid visual exploration.

Truchet Tiles

Square tiles with a quarter-circle arc oriented in one of two rotations — when randomly placed, they generate complex continuous patterns from simple rules.