Algorithmic Art Skill

npx degit anthropics/skills/skills/algorithmic-art ~/.claude/skills/algorithmic-art

algorithmic-art is one of the most ambitious skills in the Anthropic collection. It doesn’t draw an image; it composes an algorithmic philosophy and then expresses it as p5.js code that generates beauty by running.

The two-step workflow

1. Algorithmic Philosophy Creation (.md) — name a movement (e.g. “Organic Turbulence,” “Quantum Harmonics”), articulate the philosophy in 4–6 paragraphs, describe how it manifests through computation
2. p5.js Expression (.html + .js) — write the actual sketch that embodies the philosophy. Flow fields, noise octaves, particle systems

What it’s good at

• Generative art pieces — flow fields, particle systems, Voronoi, noise
• Interactive sketches — viewers can tune parameters and see emergence
• One-of-one outputs — every render is different (seeded randomness)

What’s surprising

• The skill insists you don’t generate static images. Beauty lives in the process, not the final frame.
• It actively avoids copying existing artists’ styles — every output is an original computational aesthetic.

Composes with

• web-artifacts-builder — wrap the sketch in a styled artifact
• theme-factory — apply a coherent palette to the generated output
• frontend-design — design the surrounding interface

Notes from curation

This is the most “art-school” skill in the lot. Don’t expect predictable output — that’s the point. Use it for hero images, social headers, or just to admire what algorithmic beauty looks like in 2026.

Use algorithmic-art to design a generative artwork called "Quantum Harmonics."
Particle systems with layered Perlin noise. Color emerges from velocity —
fast particles burn bright, slow ones fade to shadow.