This week I decided to make a cloud instead of a self-portrait. I thought it would be fun and also a bit easier for me to practice the idea of “relationships.” The cloud is just five ellipses drawn close together, so it’s not that tricky.

In my cloud sketch, I tried to show a few simple relationships. The cloud is connected to both the mouse and to time. When I move the mouse left or right, the cloud also shifts a little, so it feels like the mouse is pushing it. When I move the mouse down, the cloud grows bigger and fatter, which makes the mouse and the cloud size directly related.

I made the cloud move in three different ways. First, I created a variable x that increases a little each frame, and I used sin(x) to make the cloud float up and down like it’s alive (as f(x)=sin(x)is always between -1 and 1).

The cloud’s horizontal position is connected to mouseX, but I limited it so the cloud always stays around the center of the canvas instead of flying off to the edge. The size of the cloud changes with mouseY. When I move the mouse lower, the cloud becomes bigger and fatter.

While doing this, I learned how variables can be connected to each other to show different types of relationships. It was interesting to see how math functions like can create smooth and natural movement. The hardest part was adjusting the numbers so the five ellipses looked good together and also decide the position or movement of the cloud. At first, my cloud looked strange, but after some trial and error, I think it looks nice.