by [Raphaël de Courville](<https://twitter.com/sableRaph>) Like this page? You can buy me a coffee! And if you love it, consider supporting me on Patreon 💜

What is Creative Coding

Creative Coding is a loosely defined term used to describe a wide range of artistic practices that use computer code as a medium. Creative Code typically distinguishes itself from regular coding by the fact that it doesn't follow pre-defined specifications to solve problems for a user, but rather aims at expressing ideas and concepts. Artists, designers and developers use creative coding to make online experiences, generative art, interactive installations, and more.

Why p5.js?

p5.js is a tool for drawing shapes and painting colors in the browser. You can start coding right now in the web editor and find tutorials on the p5.js website. I like to start with p5.js because of its focus on accessibility and simplicity.

If you'd like to take a step back and see what tool might be better for you, check out the Creative Coding Minilist created by Naoto Hieda and myself.

Where do I start?

The best way to get familiar with p5.js is probably Daniel Schiffman’s Programming with p5.js for Beginners video series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPWkPOfnGsw

If you only have 10 minutes

Give this Twitter thread a try to get a quick taste of generative art.

https://twitter.com/generativelight/status/1519759169045381127?s=20&t=RTFYBaMjg8LU2JVCbH5hqA

Going further

The p5.js Reference

You will find the documentation for p5.js at https://p5js.org/reference/

This will likely be your most important tool when learning p5.js and a helpful reference later.

The p5.js Discord server

Join the p5.js Discord Server!