#Creative coding challenges scratch code
#Creative coding challenges scratch series

#Creative coding challenges scratch series

You might even have sketched your idea on paper, and still… what you need is series of steps to make it. Your idea seems so clear, but there is no path to writing the code. The second challenge, from idea to code, is related but slightly different: we struggle in turning an idea from our imagination into something visual, perhaps even moving and interactive. Arrange all elements, add chaos, delete everything except for the best elements, then start building again. Now, let your imagination slowly take over, move or remove something, add another thing. Soon, you see that the canvas is no longer empty, and something has taken shape. Start with something really simple, such as a rectangle, a line, or a circle. In creative writing, there are techniques to get started, and the same is true in creative coding. The next step is to realize that you were aiming too high for the first thing to come to your mind and that you need to feed your imagination somehow. What can you do? Once you realize that the blank page inhibits you, the first step is complete. It is like trying to walk while floating in outer space, and the motions of walking just don’t convert into momentum. The problem is the empty canvas that has nothing that our creativity can latch onto. So, what is really the problem here? We are motivated, we have the time, we have the right tools at hand–perhaps not even time pressure or an empty stomach (if not, solve those problems first). It is as if our creative thoughts that were there just seconds ago, have vanished into the emptiness of the canvas.

#Creative coding challenges scratch code

No words come out, no code flows from your fingers. And then, despite your plan to create something, there is nothing. It happens when you open a word processor, a blogging website, a new tweet, and also when you open your favorite coding environment. Recognizable? Let’s dig in.Įveryone experiences the blank page problem occasionally.

What are the three most important challenges that only very few programs, books and tutorials address? 1) the blank page problem, 2) translating from idea to code, and 3) how to get out of feeling stuck. Are you interested in creative coding, visualization and generative art? Nice.