Nothing here is required. These are the books and sites to open when one of the sketches makes you want to know more.

  1. The Nature of Code

    Random walks, noise, flow fields, cellular automata and agents, explained slowly with runnable code. The best next step after the Discover sketches.

  2. Generative Design

    Grids, color and shape as systems. Every example runs in the browser, so you can change a number and see what happens, as in the grid lesson.

  3. 10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10

    A whole book about one line of code that draws an endless maze by picking one of two diagonal tiles at random. Read it next to the Truchet shape in the grid lesson.

  4. Flow Fields

    How a flow field is built and how to make one look good, by the artist behind Fidenza. Goes with the Flow field sketch.

  5. inconvergent

    Notes and drawings on growth, branching and lines that avoid each other. Useful once the grid feels too tidy.

  6. Reaction-Diffusion Tutorial

    Two simulated chemicals that make spots, stripes and coral shapes, with clear pictures of each step. A good first look at growth patterns.

  7. p5.js and Processing

    The tools most of the books above use. Not needed for this course; worth trying when you want to write sketches of your own from scratch.