Now that you’ve taken the plunge into microcontrollers, here are some good resources to help you with your first project.
Books
- Getting Started in Electronics by Forrest Mims
A good resource if you have zero experience with electronics. - Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers by Dan O’Sullivan and Tom Igoe
Covers all the common use cases for kinetic sculpture and other art applications. The example code is being updated for Arduino-compatible microcontroller boards by Don as Errata for Physical Computing. - Practical Electronics for Inventors by Paul Scherz
If you have some basic understanding of electronic principles, this is the book for you.
I would also recommend Forrest Mims’ Engineers Mini Notebooks, as they have lots of common circuits that you can use for a variety of projects.
Sites
- Setting Up an Arduino on a Breadboard
- Hacking for Artists
A list of lists! - Tutorials for Wiring
The predecessor to Arduino with a more consistent codebase and a friendly community. The tutorials are clear and cover many common topics.
If you have other sites or books or other resources that have been helpful, post them to the comments and (eventually) I’ll add them to this list.