Medium Fidelity Prototype from Eva Daly on Vimeo.

Animating characters.

At this stage I just wanted to get an idea of what the characters would look like when they are all being animated together in the same scene. Over the next couple of days I will add sound, and using Max Msp I will animate the characters so that the react to you and your position on the x or y axis, so certain characters bones will move depending the closer you get to them. But this is what I have for now!

Final Project Development from Eva Daly on Vimeo.

Practice Background Positioning

Today I did a quick practice patch for the background elements of my Interactive Installation. The swinging heart, mushrooms and small moths move independently but the large moth follows your head with the kinect so it will appear as if it is following you. Tomorrow I will all the other characters i have illustrated which you ill be able to animate and interact with using the kinect!

Background Practise, Animata, Max Msp, Kinect from Eva Daly on Vimeo.

Illustrations

Some new illustrations I've been working on.

Practise!

Here is a pactise patch I've been working on. The quality is quite poor, I've been finding the software animata very buggy and have had to do alot of redesign in regards to illustrations. I am working with a kinect which sends osc messages to Max Msp which then sends messages to animata. Max can only take readings up to 999 and these numbers relate to your position on the x or y axis in Animata, I took quite some time to figure out that the numbers were being sent the pixels in the images used in Animata, I'd been working with quite large images up to 3000 x 3000 which only a third of the image in Animata was being utilised and the images became shortened and deformed.

Anywhoo! I resolved some of these issues and came up with this patch to practise with. The images, sound, animation aren't great but I intend to improve upon this drastically over the next couple of weeks!

 

Animata, Max, Msp, Kinect. from Eva Daly on Vimeo.

Chiho Aoshima

SUPERFLAT artist Chiho Aoshima has had a huge influence over my work, particularly for my interactive installation.  Her work transcends traditional techniques of representation.  Aoshima uses computer software to create beautiful and erotic worlds of ghosts, demons, schoolgirls, and exquisite natural landscapes. 

Her work is printable on any surface; from canvas bags to giant wallpaper installations.  “My work feels like strands of my thoughts that have flown around the universe before coming back to materialize.” 

Aoshima’s work has garnered international renown with a number of high profile projects.  

In 2004, she was invited to participate in the 54th Carnegie International at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, where she unveiled her largest wallpaper piece to date, measuring 106 feet (32.5m ) in length by 15 feet (4.8m ) in height.  In May 2005, as part of the Little Boy project, her ecologically-themed “City Glow” and “Paradise” series covered ad spaces throughout the Union Square subway station in New York, greeting commuters as they passed. 

Illustrations

Here are a couple of the lil guys I've been working, still a lot more to do, but its getting there! The girl character at the bottom is going to be the protagonist of the installation, she will then interact with the other characters as she moves through the installation!  These illustrations were made in photoshop and my new best friend my bamboo drawing tablet!

SHROOOOOOOMS!!

Sketches

Over the last couple of days I've been sketching ideas for my final project, I've trying to come with characters and designs for my installation, so here is a couple of sketches in their early stages which I will later illustrate in photoshop.

Thesis work - Performative Interaction

Project Objectives

The aim of this thesis is to create a visual and auditory interaction space that enables various types of performative interaction.  This exploration of performative interaction will be expressed through an interactive art installation that exploits the aesthetic and ethos of a contemporary Japanese Art Movement known as SUPERFLAT.

Project Motivation

SUPERFLAT is a contemporary Japanese art movement that garnered much acclaim, and became famous internationally, in the early 2000’s.  Artist Takashi Murakami spear headed the movement and coined the phrase SUPERFLAT.  His work, and the general aesthetic of this kind of art is instantly recognizable, the highly refined and super glossy artwork take influence from anime (Japanese animated cartoons) and ukio-e (traditional Japanese block prints).  The work also pays homage to the mass production style of Andy Warhol.  Murakami also works in a factory, similar to Warhol, known as Kai-Kai Ki-Ki.  Murakami depicts outlandish cartoon characters in a neon psychedelic world.  In his work you see the Japanese culture of Kawaii (cute) juxtaposed with a bizarre and violent edge. The central idea behind this movement, that far from it being sugary kitsch, it represents Japans culture today, it exposes the strange response of a population traumatized by the bombing of Hiroshima in World War II.  Post- war Japan was struggling to understand the war, loss and devastating national trauma. Japan also lost a lot of its own identity after the war and adopted many western influences.  These issues are depicted in the cute and idealic artwork, which is laced with irony. Imagery such as a monstrous Mickey Mouse style character puking bile on a landscape is depicted as a being quite cute and colourful.

Traditionally SUPERFLAT is exhibited in a flat printed or painted 2D medium, its digital and interactive capabilities have not been fully embraced or explored.  The main drive for this research it to enrich the viewer experience, that they become performers rather than spectators within this outlandish style of art. 

Performative Interaction

Performative interaction are described by Hespanhol and Tomitsch as those created by the human participation taking place in the public space, driven by the interactive installation and designed with the objective of bringing a community together through playful experiences.  It aims to create an event where members of the public can step out of their usual circumstances and be rewarded by their actions. (Hespanhol and Tomitsch 2012)

Inspiration

http://itp.nyu.edu/bigscreens/?p=92

ITP Big Screens Show _ GOEMUL from Yinan Zhang on Vimeo.

GOEMUL is a live, audio-reactive video installation that features animations synced to live music. Built by Tony Lim and Mehan Jayasuriya with additional animations by Yinan Zhang. GOEMUL was built using Processing, Java, MAX/MSP, Ableton Live and Animata. During the performance, Tony and Mehan will perform live music while various elements will animate in time with the music on the screens behind them.

Flash

For my flash project, I wanted to create another prototype/ animation for my final project using the panda character again.  I drew all the images and fonts then scanned them, photoshopped them, then imported them to flash.  I created an avoiding game, where it is raining skulls and the panda has to avoid them or he will die.  The skulls are set at different speeds and get faster each time they leave the screen.  If the panda gets hit he will die.  I also downloaded a screaming sound from "freesounds.org" that will play when the panda is hit.

To play the game check out my website!

Here is the code for scene 1 And the code for scene 2 "Dead Panda"

Arduino Project

Mario Arduino from Eva Daly on Vimeo.
For this project I used super bright LEDs which would play in sync to the Mario theme which I downloaded from the Arduino website, the theme is being played through a piezo speaker. I assigned each LED 2 notes, so anytime the note in the melody played the LED would flash. I then used the potentiometer to control the tempo. Here is my code.

Staged Photography

In early April I went to the creative arts festival  OFFSET, where various artists, designers, illustrators and photographers came and gave presentations about their work.  I noticed a trend that a lot of designers where using staged photography in their work, using handmade objects in natural settings for example HVASS&HANNIBAL who mage an oragami sphere and hung it in the woods, it was then made into an album cover.

So I decided I would try an experiment with some staged photography myself.  I wouldn't have the patience or the time to construct something quite as interesting as an oragami sphere so I improvised!

I bought some second hand clothes of different colours and textures and ripped them to shreds, then tied them around a wooden box.  I thought it might create a nice contrast of colours and textures.  Heres a couple of shots of what i did!

Arduino hacking in the dark!

Nearly finished my Arduino project, just wanted to upload a quick video of where I'm at now.  I've assigned the LEDs two notes each so they will light up when the are is played.  The music is being played through a piezo speaker. Next step is to make it interactive, and make it a little more aesthetically pleasing!

Mario Theme on Arduino


Mario Theme on Arduino with LEDs from Eva Daly on Vimeo.

Prototype - Animata

Here are some of my attempts using animata, they are not the most elegant animations, but I'm just trying to feel out the software for now!


First attempt, trying to animate a panda arm.
Animating a panda arm using the software animata. from Eva Daly on Vimeo.

Second attempt, "Never Alone"



Spider leg, animata from Eva Daly on Vimeo.

Prototype - Low Fidelity - Sketches /Storyboard

For my final project I decided I would create an art installation where the viewer would animate and manipulate the movements of characters on a projected surface with a kinect.  After deciding upon the concept and technologies I will use (Animata and Max Msp) I needed to think about the project more in depth.

What characters will I use?

How will they move? 

How will I incorporate sound?

I made sketches of four different scenarios.

1 "Oh deer what can the matter be."

Characters

Girls head, dears coming out of it, resembling a plaque.

Movements

Using a kinect, when you move your head from right to left the girls head will do the same.  When you lift your arms you will be able to control the deer heads.  The deers will turn towards and away from  each other.

Sound

I want the girl to be humming a childrens song of key, to create an eerie atmosphere.  I want the deers to be able to talk to each other, when one head is turned to the other it will speak, when both the heads are turned to each other they both speak.  However the dears will be speakng backwards for an extra sinister feel.

2 "Never alone"

Characters

Innocent deer creature, with a spider alien bursting out of it's chest.

Movements

The user will be able to move the head of the deer with there own.  The spider leg will be controlled by the users arm.  The joints of the spider leg will be the same as a human arm.

Sound

When the joints of the spider leg move it will make creeking noises like an old door hinge in a haunted house.

3 " Fizzy lil fish"

Characters

Hungry shark and disgruntled fish.

Movements

The fish would be on a continuos loop flying though the air. The user would be able to control the shark by jumping up and down, so it would appear the shark is bobbing up and down trying to catch the fish.

Sound

Constant sounds of water/the sea and splashing noises when the shark moves up and down.

4 "When a panda meets a skull" 

(the name is terrible, can't think of anything better right now, so that'll have to do!)

Characters

Walking panda and a talking skull.  The idea is; when the panda gets close to the skull it will start to talk.

Movements

The user will be able to manipulate the pandas movements with their own body, head, arms and legs making him walk/shuffle from side to side.

Sound

The panda will make big stomping sounds when it walks.  When it gets close enough to the skull it will start to talk.  I'm not sure what the skull is gong to say yet or how its going to sound but it won't be very pleasant!