Yingyang Zhou-LookingOutwards-5

This is a the work of Imaginary Forces NY, the short clip for HBO, combining all the feature TV series.

The process started with a great edit, and figuring out which 2d clips would breakdown nicely into 3d “pixelized” scenes, figuring out how to move on them, how to tie scenes together, light and render them. Another challenge was pulling off a deep dive into HBO’s iconic ‘static’ id, going through the static and into the promo content. The idea is to show the audience the 3D world that has always lived within the famous white noise and ” We hope this new version gives you the same feels you got when hearing the opening growing up!” according to Imaginary Forces NY website.

I like consistance of the same sophisticated idea through the whole clip, and the transition is very good, it let audience stays in ‘3D’ world instead transit to ‘2D’ world several times in between different clips.

Looking Outwards 5 -rrandell

https://www.artstation.com/vikiyeo

This is a link to some of the other works that this artist, Viki Yeo, has made previously.

I am really amazed at this piece, due to the sheer detail that the artist was able to depict. This piece interests me because looks so real and so close to a real life portrait but was actually rendered using 3D computer graphics. The artist’s name is Viki Yeo and she used the software Adobe Photoshop, Zbrush, and 3ds max. The artist is a freelance 3D character artist and it is incredibly interesting to see how the artists choices manifest in this final form. On her website, it says that she is also a 3D texture artist. I found this interesting because texture is such a specific part of the artistic process that it seemed so limiting to have that be her only job but after seeing Viki Yeo’s work, the texture is so integral to her work that it now makes sense.

Yoo Jin Shin-LookingOutwards-05

Tentacle Tower

Tenacle Tower (2005) by Yoichiro Kawaguchi

Tenacle Tower by Yoichiro Kawaguchi is a mixed-reality work that “represents the growing visual impact of lenticular 3D imaging.” The dimensions of this work is 1 m x 1 m x 1.8 m and was displayed along the wall in Kawaguchi exhibition, SIGGRAPH 2005: Threading Time. This image seems to play with people’s abilities to shift perspectives when viewing images—at times it seems like there is movement downwards, but at other times it seems to draw you into the image. It also seems futuristic due to the chrome-like theme, and looks like something one may encounter in a sci-fi movie. This image is composed of repeating elements (like pattern and color), but also varying ones (like size and angles) that were probably incorporated into the algorithm to produce this piece.

Jason Zhu Looking Outwards 05

https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/18/15988096/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-joe-letteri-visual-effects-interview

View post on imgur.com

Created by Visual FX team for the Planet of the Apes film series (2011-2017). When lookin at computational artwork, I thought about the trilogy for the movies series Planet of the Apes. I thought it was amazing how well a computer was able to create apelike faces from human expression. In order to create such realistic renderings, it seems that the actors are wearing specialized motion tracking devices to capture facial expressions and movements as well as a slew of cameras to capture motions from various angles. The computer is then able to stitch together this data into overlays that take into account muscle, size, and movement. I find it fascinating how computer generated graphics have evolved over the years in order to create such realism and intimacy and I think it is only a matter of time until the technique is completely perfected and indistinguishable from reality.

Han Yu Looking Outwards 05

Trailer for The Maze Runner from Youtube

The project I chose to write about this week is from a movie called The Maze Runner. The movie had numerous computer generated art but the one I want to discuss about is the wall. There is no way that such a huge wall can be an actual movie prop so we can safely assume that it is computer generated. Regarding the wall, admire its sheer scale and realism. There’s engraved tally marks, names on the wall to elaborate the detail of the wall. I admire these traits because I think it’s not too extreme and in your face, but still plays an important role in the movie. Regarding the algorithms generated, I think that they used the for loop because of the wall’s repeating elements. Also I think that they used a green screen to overlay the wall in a studio. So that would be similar to calling a function in a function. The creator’s artistic sensibilities come into the final form because he has a very clear understanding of the wall and its role. The wall is simple in nature. Its goal is to protect the people from the elements. But the wall’s secret is that it contains dangerous monsters. I think this classic irony is the epitome of art.

Miranda Luong-LookingOutwards-05

A new experience designed by Local Projects in partnership with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, The Pen at the Cooper Hewitt offers visitors a chance to experiment with creating their own designs. Visitors employ a Pen on interactive tables to explore the museum’s archive of objects, manipulate them and design their own. To do so, visitors draw on a gridded screen and watch as their objects are rendered live as 3D Computer Graphics on another screen adjacent to the first. While I don’t know of the specific algorithm utilized to program the Pen, Cooper Hewitt explains that the Pen’s interface with the interactive tables employs conductive materials common to touchscreen styli. I find this project truly inspiring as it provides a very new and much more immersive way for visitors to engage with works on view in the museum. Reading the project brief and having used the Pen myself, I can tell that its creators wanted to make something very unique, that spoke to the specificities of a design museum. The Pen goes beyond what is offered by an app as it invites visitors to learn about design by designing themselves.

Romi Jin – Looking Outwards 05

Four researchers at Aalto University present their input on “occluder simplification”, an algorithm they have created that requires very few inputs (does not need to be a perfectly formulated, closed mesh) and easy to implement. In the example below, the simplified triangular shapes or polygons (occluders) of a hairball and bunny.

(example of occluder simplification from triangles)

When applied to larger, more complex shapes, this process could be useful. It is interesting to think about what can be done and what can be advanced in the 3D computer graphics field. In the video below, a before and after is shown, and how much this process simplifies the input, decreasing the input to as low as 2% of the objects.

(The algorithmic process utilized in a 3D route of a city.)

Looking Outwards 5 – Sara Frankel

caption: CGI is used throughout the entire movie of The Hobbit.

The movie, The Hobbit, uses CGI, or computer generated imagery, to help develop the feeling of a different world. Every aspect of this movie is produced with CGI. Everywhere from the size of the characters (to distinguish the difference between a hobbit and not), the scenery (the differences between castles, caves, rolling hills, different villages), to building legitimate characters (the dragon, Gollum, and a lot of the little furry friends). I admire this process as by applying CGI to almost every aspect of the movie truly helps to fully develop the quality and almost the legitimacy of the reality of the movie. This movie inspires me with my major in the sense that just applying CGI, or in my case my phrasing, to one’s art will raise the quality and the coherency of the product.

Looking outwards 05

This project is a fictional character created by artists Trevor McFedries and Sara Deco who created a 19 year old avatar, Miquela. She is a model and musician and a social media influencer. She has more than a million followers by portraying the lifestyle of an it-girl on Instagram. This project interested me because of the impact that she is having on our society today. Brands are taking her on as a model and an ambassador. Her music is being compared to other virtual musicians such as Gorillaz and Hatsune Miku. What I am fascinated by the most is that she is not a real person yet she feels like one because of how realistic the artists have rendered her (and Photoshop her into photos with real people) to be and her personality/presence on Instagram. She has marked a new era of IA. This project has received both intrigue and criticism where people question whether Miquela is an art project or a social experiment. McFedries and Deco own a company called Brud which is a creative agency specializing in robotics and artificial intelligence and the first computer generated social media persona.

Tanvi Harkare – Looking Outwards 05

A project that deals with 3D computer graphics that I found interesting was the animation called On the Road to Nowhere. This project was done by Mohamed Chahin, who uses a software called Blender 3D to create different types of animations. This project focuses on a small, blue monster who Is riding an orange airplane. Although the animation is short, the quality of the animation is very good; the short animation keeps repeating itself with no obvious sign of it looping repeatedly. Some other aspects of 3D graphics that Blender 3D is capable of includes rigging, modeling, simulations, renderings, and motion tracking. Chahin uses Blender in some of his other works, sometimes pairing it along with Photoshop and other Adobe software.

I really like these types of projects because they seem like small projects that can be done in a shorter amount of time than other design projects. I am interested in knowing what would happen if you combined these smaller projects to create one big project. I assume that many animations would turn into a movie, or even a video game if it were interactive with a user. Click here for a link to his full project portfolio.