The Nature of Code

Appendix: Creature Design

This guide is by Zannah Marsh, who created all the illustrations you see in this book.

If you aren’t sure how to start the creature design task for your Ecosystem Project, or if the thought of populating a multi-creature ecosystem feels daunting, don’t worry! You can start developing creatures by using a few visual building blocks, like basic shapes and lines, and reuse them for various results. This design task is similar to programming by reusing and repurposing code.

Though p5.js draws shapes and lines easily, I recommend using paper and pencil to sketch out designs. Working directly on paper allows you to focus on your design and to quickly evaluate and compare iterations. You won’t need to switch back and forth ...