Coursera - Creative (art) programming with Processing for mobile platforms

There’s a six week Coursera course that just started - Creative Programming for Digital Media & Mobile Apps It uses a Java framework, Processing, which is designed for creative applications (sound, video, graphics). Much easier to use than straight up Java, but still a good introduction to Java as well as programming for mobile platforms (iOS and Android). My impression is the projects are nicely designed to produce cool stuff without being impossibly complicated.

I started this the last time around and didn’t get too far. It’s probably too many hours for such a beautiful summer, but as always you can download all the video and assigment pages and work on it at your leisure. It’s aimed at beginner/intermediate programmers, but it can be difficult so it might be a good thing to work on in a group? (including in the fall, if people download the material as it’s posted)

Anyway, TLDR - it’s probably easier to post the outline than describe it.

Lesson 1: Introduction: sonic painter

Using Processing
Setting up your Android or iOS device
Getting started with Sound, Graphics and Interaction

Lesson 2: Interactive D/VJ app

Creating a basic interface
Controlling sound playback with your interface
Creating images and displaying them on the screen
Image sequences and animation

Lesson 3: Audiovisualiser

Analysing audio signals
Using algorithms to create graphics
Controlling graphics parameters with audio signals
Using different colorspaces
Controlling media with accelerometers

Lesson 4: Angrydroids: Creating a Physics Game

Implementing a basic 2D game
Understanding and using physics engines
Creating in-game sound effects
Creating basic graphics

Lesson 5: Instaspam: Image manipulation and social media sharing

Accessing the camera on a mobile device.
Manipulating images using tints and overlays
Creating a Graphic User Interface with sliders and buttons
Sharing media using web services
Creating a facebook app
Creating a web app on your server

Lesson 6: Music machine

Creating a programmable sequencer
Making a basic drum machine
Making a basic synthesiser
Adding a GUI
Putting it all together