This is a non-comprehensive list of resources for venturing into creative code and software tools that brush up against creative code. The resources shared here have (mostly) been vetted or tested before adding. This is not a gaurantee that they’ll work on your machine 😉.
This is a living document. Resources will go out of date; new resources will be added. For now, most of these resources are related to the learn2code workshop held on June 15, 2025. More resources will be added!
HTML + CSS + JavaScript: for web-based projects. Node.js for working with web servers.
p5.js: for creative coding on the web. Can be used for interactive installations, but is best used on the web.
Visual Studio Code: a text editor for building your coding projects. Use this to work on your web code (HTML + CSS + JS), Python, or other types of coding projects.
Python: for all sorts of things. Good for simple scripts for processing data, images, video, etc. Heavily used in AI/machine learning, and is the scripting language for tools like TouchDesigner and Blender. Mac computers come with Python pre-installed, but different projects will require different versions. You’ll want to familiarize yourself with Python Environments before working with Python.
TouchDesigner for generative/interactive installations and realtime performances.
Arduino (the programming language) for programming microcontrollers.
Max for interactive installations and realtime performances that are geared towards sound synthesis.
git + GitHub for managing your coding projects, using open source code repositories in your projects, and hosting free static websites. Use the GitHub Desktop app for beginner-friendly GitHub repository management.
Unity + C# for working with game engines (Unreal Engine and C++ are also available, but classes in our department focus on Unity and C#)
Git and GitHub for Poets – The Coding Train – Learn how to use git and GitHub (whether or not you are a poet).
Command Line Crash Course For Beginners - Terminal Commands – Traversy Media – Learn to use the command line/Terminal. This is an extremely useful skill!
Start learning here! – The Coding Train – Beginners! Learn all the basics of code (variables, conditionals, loops, objects, arrays) in JavaScript with p5.js!
TouchDesigner Tutorial: Beginner Crash Course – The Interactive & Immersive HQ – Great place to start to learn the basics of TouchDesigner. Start here before venturing out to more specific/advanced tutorials.
Hand Tracking in TouchDesigner - Master Class Part 1 – Torin Blankensmith
Hand Tracking in TouchDesigner - Master Class Part 2 – Torin Blankensmith
Hand Tracking in TouchDesigner - Master Class Part 3 – Torin Blankensmith
TouchDesigner - IF statements and basic Python (Script CHOP) - Synthetic_Future – Bring basic if-statements and coding logic with Python into TouchDesigner
The Coding Train with Daniel Shiffman - an incredible resource for learning creative code through p5.js
Patt Vira - great standalone creative coding (and some physical computing) tutorials. A wide variety of beginning to advanced lessons.
The Interactive & Immersive HQ – Excellent TouchDesigner lessons and tutorials
Torin Blankensmith – TouchDesigner, body tracking