Author: xuyrrej

Don Relyea: Big Hairy Bush – Hair Particle Drawing Project

The artwork I am choosing is Big Hairy Bush- Hair Particle Drawing by Don Relyea. I admire that the algorithm and its intended pattern is based on natural occurrences of hair. It is artwork that was accidental, a result of noticing that hair bunching together could create different levels of shade and make an artwork similar to one that would be drawn from charcoal. The hair image is of George Bush and symbolizes how all politicians have something ugly that they hide. Hair is pushed by media and modern beauty standards as something that is ugly and should be hidden. Therefore, this concept creates an efficient, inventive, and playful social commentary, that also shows artistry on the part of Relyea.

Don Relyea: Big Hairy Bush – Hair Particle Drawing Project

Project 03

This project shows somebody ducking their head instinctively upon hearing the firing of a spitball. As the mouse is moved from left to right, the spitball fires, and the head goes from facing the viewer to facing and shifting downward. The facial features also move with the mouse’s movement to achieve the illusion of perspective. The hair size increases and the eyes and mouth widen and disappear. The background changes color to provide a sense of impact and display a transition of the person’s emotion from unaware to alarmed, dark to bright.

sketch
// Jerry Xu (jwx)
// Section A
// Project 3: Spitball

let rSky = 153
let gSky = 153
let bSky = 0

function setup() {
  createCanvas(400, 400);
}

function draw() {
  background(rSky, gSky, bSky);
  fromSky = color(0, 0, 0);
  toSky = color(252, 242, 197);
  backgroundColor = lerpColor(fromSky, toSky, mouseX/width);
  background(backgroundColor);


  //meteor color constraints
  rMeteor = constrain(123, 169, 220);
  gMeteor = constrain(123, 169, 220);
  bMeteor = constrain(123, 169, 220);
  
  //trail color constraints
  
  rTrail = 255
  gTrail = 255
  bTrail = random(51, 204);

  
  var mConX = constrain(mouseX, 25, 500);
  var mConY = constrain(mouseY, 100, 100);

//projectile
  strokeWeight(0.1);
  fill(rTrail,bTrail,gTrail);
  fromTrail = color(255, 255, 51);
  toTrail = color(255, 255, 204);
  fillTrail = lerpColor(fromTrail, toTrail, mouseX/width);
  fill(fillTrail);
  triangle(mConX-60,mConY-25, mConX-10,mConY-5, mConX-10, mConY-26);
  triangle(mConX-130,mConY-10, mConX-10,mConY-5, mConX-10, mConY-26);
  triangle(mConX-60,mConY+25, mConX+10,mConY+5, mConX+10, mConY+26);
  triangle(mConX-130,mConY+10, mConX+10,mConY+5, mConX+10, mConY+26);
  triangle(mConX-150,mConY, mConX-5,mConY+20, mConX-10, mConY-20);
  stroke(255);
  fill(rMeteor,bMeteor,gMeteor);
  fromMeteor = color(253, 197, 94);
  toMeteor = color(255, 240, 173);
  fillMeteor = lerpColor(fromMeteor, toMeteor, mouseX/width);
  fill(fillMeteor);
  ellipse(mConX,mConY,55,55);
  ellipse(mConX,mConY,45,45);

//straw  
  stroke(0);
  strokeWeight(0.5);
  fill(0, 112, 74);
  circle(65, 99.5, 57.52);
  noStroke();
  rect(0, 71, 70, 57);
  stroke(0);
  strokeWeight(0.5);
  line(0, 71, 72.5, 71);
  line(0, 128, 72.5, 128);
  
//constrain ducking height
var hConX = constrain(mouseX, 180, 300);

//head, neck, body
  fill(fillMeteor);
  quad(250, 300, 180, 330, 500, 330, 400, 300);
  quad(160, 500, 180, 330, 500, 330, 400, 500);
  stroke(255, 216, 194);
  strokeWeight(80);
  line(7/8 * width, 3/4 * height, 7/8 * width, hConX);
  fill(12);
        fill(255, 216, 194);
        stroke(0);
        strokeWeight(0.2);
        circle(7/8 * width, hConX+51, 200);
  
//hair size change to create perspective when head goes down
  fill(0);
  if (mouseX > 200){
    ellipse(7/8*width, hConX+30, 180, 170);
    translate(300,400); 
  } else 
      ellipse(7/8*width, hConX, 180, 100);

//facial features
  if (mouseX > 150 & mouseX < 200){
    fill(255);
    ellipse(7/8*width+40, hConX+100, 40, 20);
    ellipse(7/8*width-30, hConX+100, 40, 20);
    fill(0);
    circle(7/8*width + 40, hConX+100, 20);
    circle(7/8*width - 30, hConX+100, 20);
    fill(255,0,0);
    ellipse(7/8*width+5, hConX+130, 20, 30);
  } else if (mouseX < 150){
    fill(255);
    ellipse(7/8*width+40, hConX+100, 30, 10);
    ellipse(7/8*width-30, hConX+100, 30, 10);
    fill(0);
    circle(7/8*width + 40, hConX+100, 10);
    circle(7/8*width - 30, hConX+100, 10);
    line(340, 300, 370, 300);
  }
}

LookingOutwards-03

The project I’m choosing is called “Grotto” by Benjamin Aranda and Chris Lasch. I enjoy how this project looks because it has a fascinating premise. The project is based on the work of Wilson Bentley who worked for 45 years to prove that no two snowflakes are alike. He documented 5,381 individual crystals to notice patterns that are key inspirations behind the logic of “Grotto.” Though each snowflake is different, they follow certain rules, especially the rule of six, that not only constitute the number of sides a snowflake has but also describes the molecular relationship. This concept is used in the project, where only one simple rule is followed to maintain consistency between geometries, but it is demonstrated that possibilities generated from varying how such a rule repeats prove endless. I think that the algorithm is produced in a similar logic; one simple rule, for example, limiting the number of sides that each component can have, is kept, and then different functions loop in order to seemingly endlessly generate the shape to produce different conglomerations. In the final form, I can see much artistic sensibility, as it seems that inspirations from nature were taken to create these forms. For example, in some generated patterns, the result resembles a clump of snowflakes, as a form of direct inspiration from Bentley’s work, and in others, the product looks more like a flower.

ARANDA/LASCH
“Grotto” proposal

xuyrrej-LookingOutwards-02

For this blog, I am choosing to write about Fluctus by Lia. Firstly, I admire its color palette. The entire project, whichever surface it is projected, gives off a futuristic feel, with its dark colors contrasting with bright blue. Second, I love that the project has moved and is not a static image. The movement gives the piece life and makes it seem like a living, breathing creature. Lastly, I enjoy the organic feel of the project. There are no straight lines, and even though everything seems to flow freely, organized patterns still manage to form.
I think the artwork is generated by an automatically repeating code that only needs to be set off by a single command. The continually running sequence might be simple at its core, with the patterns created being intended but not entirely planned.
Her other projects seem to follow a similar design language, with a strong preference for movement, organic design, and pattern.

Section A
https://www.liaworks.com/theprojects/fluctus/
https://vimeo.com/320461873

Looking Outwards 1

A computational project that had inspired me before my time at CMU is the game Elden Ring, developed by FromSoftware. When I first got my hands on it, I had already seen the trailer, so I expected to be greeted with incredible graphics and exciting gameplay. However, seeing a game in a trailer and playing it yourself are entirely different experiences, so much so that I was already enthralled by what I was greeted with in the tutorial. Though this initial gameplay only involved my character needed to learn the basics of controlling movement and combat, the exquisite quality of every single frame combined with the already progressing story hooked me. In a trance and completely immersed, I thought I was already playing the game before I realized that it was only the tutorial and that I needed to emerge out of the cave and go into the first leveling area of the game called Limgrave. The game knows that it is beautiful. The way that Limgrave is revealed to the player is classic: the cave’s gate is opened out into a lush, hilly environment scattered with shimmering, golden trees and tall grass, amongst them roaming animals such as fluffy, tumbling sheep and brown eagles. Dominating the landscape was an enormous golden tree that resembled Yggdrasil, whose reason for existence seemed to mimic the sun in our world; endless rays of lights were beaming off of its crown, with its leaves of shimmering yellow raining onto the face of the world. In the background, I could spot hints of the medieval-looking architectural ruins of an ancient church. After I admired the environment by walking around or gazing into the distance, I knew that the church was where I needed to go. Thus my 100-hour journey to defeat the game had started. The game was directed Hidetaka Miyazaki with worldbuilding provided by the fantasy writer George R. R. Martin. To me, this is a superteam, as Hidetaka Miyazaki was heavily inspired by the artistic style of the Berserk manga, which is one of the greatest manga ever written, and George R. R. Martin is the great mind behind the Game of Thrones books. To my knowledge, Elden Ring was made in Unreal Engine, with its terrain being sculpted inside the program. The project’s creators, since they were working with FromSoftware, needed to take heed to the past works from the video game development company, notably, the Dark Souls franchise. The artistic style of both Dark Souls and Elden Ring clearly are of the same vein, and the style of gameplay in both games involve leveling your character by beating bosses. The project points toward more games of the same fashion. The gaming community speculates a sequel game to Elden Ring coming in a few years.