When making generative art, you should always start with code. Right?

Generative art is made from code, so it makes sense to begin by coding. If you're doing anything else, you're wasting time and not actually making art. So coding is the best way to get good art.

In rushing to code, you might find yourself having the same problems repeatedly.

• When you finish coding, the result is disappointing.

• Making a bunch of tweaks to your art, and not being satisfied with any of them.

• Rendering a work repeatedly and hoping one comes out well.

If you don't have a vision of what you're creating, your art will be mediocre.

You'll hope that what you imagine ends up in the image, but you won't be able to tell until the art is coded. It's easy to gloss over details in your head, or be distracted by the concept. Wouldn't it be nice if, before you've written a line of code, you knew you were going to like your artwork?

Before you write any code, do a preparatory sketch with pencil and paper.

It's so common for traditional artists that it's silly to list examples, but Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, and Andy Warhol all made preparatory sketches. So you, too, can sketch the art you imagine. It's a quick way to see if you like it. I have used this to plan out some of my work, and it lets me rapidly discard bad ideas before spending much time on them.

Sketching your work lets you find art that will work.

Even though sketching a specific picture feels far removed from coding your generative art, it can make your art better.