I began my coding process on P5 by focusing on the concept: I wanted to turn my manifesto quote “life is like an ice cream, enjoy it before it melts” into a playful, visual system. Ice cream is colourful, temporary, and fun—so I wanted my code to reflect that same feeling through sprinkles, a cone, and a scoop that carries the text.I started with a configuration section where I defined the key variables: the quote, background color, font, sprinkle count, and two “flavor” variations (strawberry and mint). This allowed me to control the whole design with a few parameters instead of rewriting code later.I generated a pastel backdrop filled with sprinkles. Using randomness for position, size, angle, and color gave the background an organic, scattered feel—similar to how real sprinkles fall onto ice cream.
I built the cone using many horizontal lines that gradually shift color, giving a shaded, gradient look. To emphasize the waffle texture, I added crosshatch lines. This step was about making the base of the ice cream visually believable while still stylized.
The scoop rim was designed with overlapping translucent ellipses and “bumps,” which made the edge look fluffy and irregular, like melting ice cream. This added depth and softness to balance the hard geometry of the cone.
The most important part was wrapping the manifesto text around the scoop. I split the sentence into individual characters, calculated their circular positions, and rotated each one upright. This made the text feel like it was part of the scoop itself rather than just sitting on top.To bring the design alive, I programmed:
Drips: characters on the bottom arc occasionally drip, simulating melting. I tied this to frameCount so it changes over time.
Gloss and sparkle: each letter was given a highlight ellipse and a rare random sparkle, imitating the shiny, sticky surface of ice cream.
These dynamic effects emphasized the manifesto’s idea of impermanence.