Title slides for the HawkTV show. I animated these in After Effects while I designed the background in Illustrator.
The students produced the content for the show, but I helped them out by designing and animated their motion graphics. For next Spring 2014, I am adding a Motion Graphics class to our curriculum, so then I won’t have to do these anymore. 
The students will know how!
Developed this opener for the HawkTV students to save time. Came out pretty well.
After Effects for the animation and compositing / Illustrator & Photoshop for the graphics creation & manipulation.
Most of you who follow me know that I teach at the university level. I create a LOT of tutorials for all of my students, that I upload to YouTube. My moniker has become “MCOMJOHN.” Short for Mass Communications John.
I finally threw some sorta odd steampunk logo together. Or rather it’s “Sherlock Holmes-esque.”
At any rate, I think it’s rather hip, hip, cheerio, and all that good stuff. Enjoy!
Step 01: The Processing Setup
import processing.pdf.*;
boolean recording;
PGraphicsPDF pdf;
//Declare//
// Square Brackets is an array or collection//
Boxie [] boxieCollection = new Boxie [120];
void setup() {
background(#000000);
size(1024, 600);
smooth();
pdf = (PGraphicsPDF)
createGraphics(width, height, PDF, "bounxerz.pdf");
//Initalize//
for(int i = 0; i < boxieCollection.length; i++){
boxieCollection[i] = new Boxie(random(0, width),
random(0, height));
}
}
void draw() {
//Display FUNCTION called in Class//
for (int i=0; i < boxieCollection.length; i++){
boxieCollection[i].run();
fill(255-i*20, 255, i*20, 50);
}
}
void keyPressed() {
if (key == 'r') {
if (recording) {
endRecord();
println("Recording stopped.");
recording = false;
} else {
beginRecord(pdf);
println("Recording started.");
recording = true;
}
} else if (key == 'q') {
if (recording) {
endRecord();
}
exit();
}
}
Bear in mind, that the code above allows you the ability to export your composition into a PDF. “R” is to record then you press “Q” to quit the process.
Step 02: The Class
class Boxie {
//GLOBAL VARIABLES: Speed, Location//
float x = 0;
float y = 10;
float speedX = 1;
float speedY = 2;
float gravity = 0.01;
//CONSTRUCTOR: How you build the class;
what does the class need to work - call variables//
Boxie(float _x, float _y){
x = _x;
y = _y;
}
//FUNCTIONS: How to break down complex behavior;
call separately//
void run(){
display();
move();
bounce();
gravity();
}
void bounce(){
if(x > width){
speedX = speedX *-2;
}
if(x < 0){
speedX = speedX *-1;
}
if(y > height){
speedY = speedY *-2;
}
if(y < 0){
speedY = speedY *-1;
}
}
void gravity() {
speedY = speedY - gravity;
}
void move() {
x += speedX;
y += speedY;
}
void display(){
rect(x, y, 15, 15);
}
}
The above code defines things such as: Gravity, X / Y boundaries, etc.
This is my first foray into procedural art. I watched MANY tutorials and read MANY pages in several books on using code to create art. While procedural art has been around for a long time, it hasn’t always been so popular. Most people know or have heard of “fractals.” I plan on opening up my source code to the public soon. As I have learned from other artists who have made their code open, I wish to do likewise. I feel that there is a type of freedom in sharing the “secrets” for creating such complex and beautiful compositions.
