Project 14 (Tweak the Arduino Logo)

Hardware The Arduino Starter Kit
11

I've run into some trouble on this project again.

I can change the background color but it keep's flashing. I think it's because of my port.read() values. They pretty much always bounce between 55 and 10, hardly taking notice of how much I've turned the potentiometer.

I have no experience dealing with serial communication, so I'm a bit lost at the moment.

My code:

import processing.serial.*;
Serial myPort;

PImage logo;

int bgcolor = 0;

void setup() {

  colorMode(HSB, 255);

  logo = loadImage("http://www.userlogos.org/files/logos/jumpordie/teamliquid-iphone.png");
  size(logo.width, logo.height);

  println("Avilable serial ports");
  println(Serial.list());

  myPort = new Serial(this, Serial.list()[1], 9600); // parameters : which application, which port & what speed
}

void draw() {
  if (myPort.available() > 0) { // if(there is something in the buffer)
    bgcolor = myPort.read();
    print("     ");
    println(myPort.read());
    println(bgcolor);
  }

  background(bgcolor, 255, 255); // hue, brightness, saturation. max value 255
  image(logo, 0, 0); // image() is used to draw. --- what to draw , x-coordiante to start, y-coordiante to start ---
}

  1. Does anyone know what I should do in order to get proper readings?

  2. What type of images can I use? Any image, or does it have to be a .jpg, .png etc...?

Thanks in advance!!