Genuary 2025
Intro 👉
In March 2024, I started practicing Generative Art. This had been on my to-do list for a long time.
For context, I like too many things, and I find it really hard to decide what to spend my time on, which usually ends up with me doing nothing as I get overwhelmed. But I'm working on improving that 😅.
Before continuing, a short clarification of what Generative Art is:
Generative Art is procedural art created through custom algorithms and rules, not AI models that generate an output based on training data.
I've been practicing and learning during my free time, and during the summer, I started a side project I named PatternBloom, which, at the time of writing this post, is a website where you can download free pattern templates to color. All of the patterns are made with code, and they're actually published on GitHub (but I'm planning to move them to another repo).
You can create Generative Art with almost anything, but I decided to start with something simple and familiar, so I chose p5.js. I would like to write more about how to start doing Generative Art, but that's out of the scope of this post.
The Challenge 🎨
Having said that, what's the Genuary Challenge?
It's a creative coding challenge. During the month of January, you have to create a piece of art following a given prompt. You have all the prompts available at genuary.art, so you can work on upcoming pieces as well. Actually, according to the official rules, you don't even need to fully follow the prompts because the real challenge is to create a single and unique piece every day of the month. And believe me, it's exhausting.
I thought it would be a good opportunity to create new pieces, learn techniques, and just force myself to engage with the generative art community and get inspired by others.
The Bad 👎
- It can be stressful. I was not working full-time in January, which was an advantage, but even so, it was hard to find time.
- I've published some pieces I didn't like at all, but I didn't have time to create something better.
- The code I wrote was sometimes a bit messy, as I did a lot of trial and error for the final touches of the pieces.
The Good 👍
- I ended up with 31+ new pieces (as there are a lot of variations).
- I learned new things. For example, I learned how to set up basic scenes with Three.js, as I decided to use this library for some pieces. I also learned how to use Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) techniques.
- I reviewed some geometry concepts, such as how to distribute N items evenly within a circumference.
- I started following a lot of creative folks, got a lot of inspiration, and made great connections.
- I inspired others too! Some people reached out to learn more about the challenge in general and generative art in particular.
- I showed this project while it was a WIP in a technical interview... and I passed it!
Summary 🤏
I believe these kinds of challenges are great for pushing our own limits and fostering creativity. There were too many days, I must confess, and I don't know if I'd do the challenge again. Maybe I'd approach it differently, as I would like to use something other than p5.js.