Turtle Freestyle

This is a project from Fall 2018. It was not assigned in 2019, but might serve as the basis for a final project, or in some future year, it might be resurrected as a weekly project. It is here for reference.

X. Project XX: Freestyle: Playing with your Turtle(s)

This is a highly open-ended creative Project in which you are asked to create an interesting composition using Turtle Graphics. Essentially, you are invited to explore your own interests while using this very different approach to drawing and rendering. Below are a handful of possible suggestions for paths of exploration; please note that this is not a complete list of possibilities:

  • A turtle which responds to the cursor. You could have a turtle that responds to the position of the user’s cursor, for example, fleeing away from it, spiraling around it, etc.
  • A turtle which responds to an image on which it is crawling. You could use an image (hidden or otherwise) as the “terrain” on which a turtle is crawling, and the turtle could make decisions about which way to turn based on the color of the pixel underneath it.
  • A family of turtles which are following or avoiding each other. With the addition of some noise() or randomness, this can produce very surprising results.
  • Using a turtle to draw different kinds of visual forms. Turtle Graphics are particularly well-suited to drawing complex curves, dotted lines, calligraphic curlicues, and other unusual structures. Google around to see what’s possible…
  • A big flock of turtles that…?

Here are the Project-XX Requirements:

  • Create a composition using Turtle Graphics using p5.js, as described above. Your canvas should be no larger than 480 pixels in any dimension, please.
  • When you’re done, <strong>embed your p5.js sketch in a blog post on this site, using the (usual) instructions here. Make sure that your p5.js code is visible and attractively formatted in the post. Include some comments in your code.
  • In your blog post, write a sentence or two reflecting on your process and product. In discussing your process, it would be awesome if you included any of your paper sketches from your notebook; these could be as simple as photos captured with your phone.
  • Please include one or two screen-shots of your finished composition.
  • Label your project’s blog post with the Category Project-XX-Composition.
  • Label your project’s blog post with your Section, e.g. “SectionC“.