Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
09.20.16 | Reading Response(s)
Materializing Information: 3D Printing and Social Change
The main point the article tries to get across is that 3D printing and its associated practices aren't just a new form of tool, but a form of "material engagement" along the lines of the innovation of styrofoam. It's in something of a complicated place right now - those that champion it speak of major societal and political breakthroughs, the improvements to automation, etc. but these claims also don't generally take into account the associated adjustments and possible repercussions associated with these breakthroughs, such as the economic impacts of massive improvements in accessibility and mechanics relative to fields such as automation.
The main point the article tries to get across is that 3D printing and its associated practices aren't just a new form of tool, but a form of "material engagement" along the lines of the innovation of styrofoam. It's in something of a complicated place right now - those that champion it speak of major societal and political breakthroughs, the improvements to automation, etc. but these claims also don't generally take into account the associated adjustments and possible repercussions associated with these breakthroughs, such as the economic impacts of massive improvements in accessibility and mechanics relative to fields such as automation.
Drawing parallels to other artificial materials such as styrofoam are effective in detailing the mundane utilities of 3D printing; printed materials can fill round holes in situations full of square pegs, and are also useful regarding physical concepts and demonstrations that would ordinarily have to be covered virtually, albeit still limited by the technology and resources available. However, it also presents more substantial shake-ups to material design, namely the materialization of digital materials, which - while possible in the past - is ultimately much more possible when generated natively in three dimensions across multiple forms of actual building materials (as opposed to paper crafts, etc.)
Also important is the workflow and associated pipelines in CAD spaces, which are generally more technical than printing documents or graphics, and involve a certain amount of "material labor" across both virtual and physical spaces.
How 3D Printing is Disrupting The Art World
The core of 3D printing's impact on the art world tends to do with its capacity for disruptive behavior, much like most past works of art. However, while art's disruptive nature tends to lend itself to commentary, the disruption that comes with CAD tends to be more mechanical or developmental, and (if you're of the mindset that accessibility is a good thing, which, I mean, why wouldn't it be) it also gives potential artists a lot more room to blossom into kinetic (realized) artists. As the article notes, "some people aren't good with their hands", and comparisons between studio art and computer graphics (e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) aren't exactly irrelevant here - being able to map out your works in more "objective" virtual terms is a huge hurdle that can now be overcome thanks to things like 3D printing.
Will Minecraft and Makerbot Usher in the Post-Scarcity Economy?
"Replicator" technology in fiction is basically older than dirt when you start getting into ancient mythologies and the various spoils it often tells of. While its modern incarnation was popularized in the public eye with media like Star Trek, interactive forms of media like sandbox-based video games (esp. Minecraft, which is one of the most - if not the most - popular sandbox game at this point) have also allowed players and audiences to actually see, in real time, what such a virtual "land of milk and honey" could ultimately yield. Procedural generation is a large part of Minecraft's particular blend of material environment, but it's ultimately the limitless playspace and continuously-produced materials in the sandbox that allow for impossible-yet-realized megastructures and the like.
Makerbot's a little more nebulous in that's an actual real-world replicator, albeit obviously limited by the real-world materials on hand. I think "usher in the post-scarcity economy" sort of falls into the overly-bold claims originally mentioned in Materializing Information above, but it does still provide some significant food for thought regarding the concept of post-scarcity. Star Trek's post-scarcity environment resulted in humanity exploring the stars "for the betterment of mankind", while Minecraft essentially boils down to a session-instanced socialist meritocracy where the people with the most ideas collect the most materials to build the biggest megastructures and things revolve around that, but given the real world doesn't exactly exist in a vacuum like that it's hard to say how things would go.
How 3D Printing is Disrupting The Art World
The core of 3D printing's impact on the art world tends to do with its capacity for disruptive behavior, much like most past works of art. However, while art's disruptive nature tends to lend itself to commentary, the disruption that comes with CAD tends to be more mechanical or developmental, and (if you're of the mindset that accessibility is a good thing, which, I mean, why wouldn't it be) it also gives potential artists a lot more room to blossom into kinetic (realized) artists. As the article notes, "some people aren't good with their hands", and comparisons between studio art and computer graphics (e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) aren't exactly irrelevant here - being able to map out your works in more "objective" virtual terms is a huge hurdle that can now be overcome thanks to things like 3D printing.
Will Minecraft and Makerbot Usher in the Post-Scarcity Economy?
"Replicator" technology in fiction is basically older than dirt when you start getting into ancient mythologies and the various spoils it often tells of. While its modern incarnation was popularized in the public eye with media like Star Trek, interactive forms of media like sandbox-based video games (esp. Minecraft, which is one of the most - if not the most - popular sandbox game at this point) have also allowed players and audiences to actually see, in real time, what such a virtual "land of milk and honey" could ultimately yield. Procedural generation is a large part of Minecraft's particular blend of material environment, but it's ultimately the limitless playspace and continuously-produced materials in the sandbox that allow for impossible-yet-realized megastructures and the like.
Makerbot's a little more nebulous in that's an actual real-world replicator, albeit obviously limited by the real-world materials on hand. I think "usher in the post-scarcity economy" sort of falls into the overly-bold claims originally mentioned in Materializing Information above, but it does still provide some significant food for thought regarding the concept of post-scarcity. Star Trek's post-scarcity environment resulted in humanity exploring the stars "for the betterment of mankind", while Minecraft essentially boils down to a session-instanced socialist meritocracy where the people with the most ideas collect the most materials to build the biggest megastructures and things revolve around that, but given the real world doesn't exactly exist in a vacuum like that it's hard to say how things would go.
Monday, September 19, 2016
09.20.16 | Critique Reflection
Ultimately we didn't spend a ton of time on my moodboard so I didn't get much feedback regarding the actual themes of the installation, but the feedback regarding the rendering itself was generally positive. Since the mockup in UE4 was pretty last-minute (I had modeled out the thing in Sketchup prior but the idea to render it with material finishes, lighting, etc. didn't occur to me until the night before) I basically just cleared some room out to show it rather than giving it its own dedicated space, which is definitely something I'm going to adjust in future demonstrations, and was the main concern throughout most of the feedback I received.
Otherwise, the major concerns regarding the structure were suspension (as opposed to just being a giant heavy polygon construct inexplicably floating above the ground) and how it'd tie into the design, and then the actual size and perspectives relative to people viewing the installation. The octahedron is actually pretty huge in its current state at 6 meters in height, as well as being roughly 0.2m off the ground. That being said, the size is an intentional decision, because the installation would be in a pretty large body of water, meaning that it would have to be a significant size in order for people to view it from that distance.
It was also suggested that the pedestal / platform the installation rests on be submerged itself, which is definitely something I'm experimenting with. The only other real concern that was brought up was making sure people would be able to make out the details in the top "carved out" section because of its size, which I'm working on.
Monday, September 12, 2016
09.13.16 | Design Research Poster & Notes
This current design is an attempt to rectify multiple, more complicated designs into a straightforward and easily readable architectural design. The overall design takes inspiration from Simon Stalenhag's works (mainly in the lighting / "set dressing"), the greater design philosophy of Brutalism and a number of other sources, but probably most noticeably the concept of the Monoliths from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The core of the installation is an octahedron with a quarter "cut out" and split up into two smaller eigths (or possibly more in a "staircase" type of arrangement) on the top half of the primitive to provide a focal point. While the octahedron shape could be mounted or framed in a number of ways, for this initial pitch I kept it floating despite looking fairly dense and/or heavy to maintain a bit of an alien presence and sense of intrigue. A "wireframe"-type series of shapes frame out the top half of the octahedron using the dimensions of the bottom half to maintain proportions while still keeping the "cut out" section visible and eye-catching.
The octahedron would be installed in the center of a circular platform, with the only other physical elements of the installation being a set of four lights aligned with the faces (not the corners) of the octahedron. The greater installation would be set within a body of water, possibly with fountains added shooting out in the opposite direction of the lights.
In terms of materials, the entire installation relies on pretty simple material finishes outside of possibly using a chameleon-flake / "glitter vinyl"-type finish sometimes seen on cars, guitars, more commonly in fingernail paints, etc. although the octahedron would remain a pearly white color. The main forms of coloration would come from the lighting, and the lights could change color accordingly depending on context, dates, etc. similarly to how Google's splash page changes fairly often. The "cut out" section of the octahedron could also optionally utilize a further series of lights to accent the piece similar to artificially-produced bismuth (see moodboard). To clarify, here's a demo illustrating some possible colorations with and without the stripes:
Super basic demo of the installation in its intended habitat (see last few blog entries for locations); the area would have some artificial ponds in the proposed 2021 mockup.
In keeping with the "Sea Change" themes, the mix of adaptable lighting along with the simple but entropic use of pearlescence and sometimes iridescence in the subtle material finishes would allow the installation to maintain a fairly ubiquitous-yet-alien design whose simplicity would also allow it to instill various degrees of further complexity or even "storytelling" via the lighting. The monolith-like elements of the design would keep it captivating and inviting, if still somewhat imposing or scintillating - it's meant to be thought-provoking, but at the same time allow people to establish conclusions fairly quickly.
The mockup was made in Unreal Engine 4 and not Sketchup which is how the wireframe / glitter vinyl materials were applied. Note that the installation only goes as far as the water and all of the background elements were just part of the space I created it in. The human / llama blocks aren't a part of the installation - they're just for scale.
Monday, September 5, 2016
09.06.16 | Blog Debrief, Week 2
It's covered in the prior posts, but this week I ended up:
- setting out on a personal dèrive
- going through several models before I was able to get a simple one that would flatten out
- installed Flattery, both Solid Inspectors and the associated TT library on my desktop computer (everything was still installed on my laptop from last year!) and started getting reacquainted with modeling
- exploring some possible locations for the installation project
While it's not completely relevant to the course, I've also been using Sketchup as part of my work pipeline to get more comfortable creating static and skeletal meshes for Unreal Engine 4, and using Mixamo for rigging and bones for the time being:
- setting out on a personal dèrive
- going through several models before I was able to get a simple one that would flatten out
- installed Flattery, both Solid Inspectors and the associated TT library on my desktop computer (everything was still installed on my laptop from last year!) and started getting reacquainted with modeling
- exploring some possible locations for the installation project
While it's not completely relevant to the course, I've also been using Sketchup as part of my work pipeline to get more comfortable creating static and skeletal meshes for Unreal Engine 4, and using Mixamo for rigging and bones for the time being:
09.06.16 | Personal Dèrive
For my personal trip, I ended up going to Twin Hills Park out in Crestview:
Mainly because I haven't been to that general area in like 4 or 5 years and it was a lot of surface area so I was able to spend a solid amount of time there (roughly an hour and 45 minutes). It was a nice experience, but honestly it's kind of difficult to write a ton about it considering it was mainly a lot of walking around and people-watching. I ended up going out this weekend once I got off work so it was already around 5 or 6 when it first got there so it was a decent temperature out, and I mainly walked around without paying too much attention to any particular paths and more or less walked the entire perimeter of the park before following some of the specific paths (like the bridge in the pond on the right).
There weren't a ton of people out, but it brought back a lot of memories because I used to have a couple of friends out in Crestview I'd see, so I guess there was some closure there in that regard? The park's also got these huge geese that are practically larger than turkeys because they keep getting overfed by the people there, to the point that some stray cats that seem to frequent the area were afraid of even approaching them. I have issues taking myself out of the situation like you're typically meant to do in dèrives and not giving myself time to just relax, so approaching it in a constructive way like this was cathartic, in a sense. I also really enjoy the drive from Valparaiso down SR-85 to Crestview, but I don't know that it really counts as part of the drift.
Mainly because I haven't been to that general area in like 4 or 5 years and it was a lot of surface area so I was able to spend a solid amount of time there (roughly an hour and 45 minutes). It was a nice experience, but honestly it's kind of difficult to write a ton about it considering it was mainly a lot of walking around and people-watching. I ended up going out this weekend once I got off work so it was already around 5 or 6 when it first got there so it was a decent temperature out, and I mainly walked around without paying too much attention to any particular paths and more or less walked the entire perimeter of the park before following some of the specific paths (like the bridge in the pond on the right).
There weren't a ton of people out, but it brought back a lot of memories because I used to have a couple of friends out in Crestview I'd see, so I guess there was some closure there in that regard? The park's also got these huge geese that are practically larger than turkeys because they keep getting overfed by the people there, to the point that some stray cats that seem to frequent the area were afraid of even approaching them. I have issues taking myself out of the situation like you're typically meant to do in dèrives and not giving myself time to just relax, so approaching it in a constructive way like this was cathartic, in a sense. I also really enjoy the drive from Valparaiso down SR-85 to Crestview, but I don't know that it really counts as part of the drift.
09.06.16 | Campus Installation Notes
For my installation project, I was looking at doing something based in the water on some type of foundation / pedestal, possibly with fountains and lighting included as part of the setpiece. I did some general brainstorming based on the two locations here:
If the form ended up being less statuesque and more alien, I'd probably consider having it trailing off onto the nearby landscape as well. Some pictures of the (present-day) areas it'd be getting installed in:
Saturday, August 27, 2016
08.30.16 | Reading Response: Theory of the Dèrive
Based on my interpretation of the Theory of the Dèrive from the reading material assigned, in its most basic form, the concept appears to revolve around pathfinding as a vector in which one (or many) attempt to obtain a given level of objectivity through situational anarchy. In some ways, it almost seems like the Libertarian means of travel (or more specifically journeying) to a routine commute's Republicanism or a tourist travel's Democracy: it encourages a certain level of autonomy through atmospheres either known and/or unknown, and through human, subjective accounts, these people involved attempt to catalogue this information through some objective means via comparing their experiences. Psychogeography - the study of a geographical environment's effect on one's emotions and behavior - plays a large part.
The experience is paradoxical to some extent; the Bureau of Public Secrets passage likewise notes its nature as being inherently contradictory. The people involved are asked to adopt an almost ascetic understanding (or lack of understanding) of their surroundings, stripping themselves of their given routines or lifestyles at the time in favor of somehow distancing themselves from the situation enough to subtract their own personal feelings on their local environment to form an objective account, yet still staying in tune with themselves enough to know what those feelings and altered behaviors are, in order to form any sort of conclusion.
The easiest way I could describe it in more concrete terms would be personal echolocation - that is, someone uses their subjective thoughts, emotions, behaviors, etc. to get a feel for and understanding of a given space, and then use those signals that "bounce back" in order to shape a material form for that space. The area(s) in which the drift is performed can either be known or unknown, and the space in which it takes place can be a fixed size or be fluid - but the participants seem to be expected to hold a specific level of articulation towards their feelings from the experience, as well.
In terms of personally orchestrating a dèrive, I think I'd want to emotionally map out the networking between a handful of known spaces; given the area, most of my commutes are either on the highway or interstate to begin with, and I feel like "laying out" an objective account of areas like that would be more introspective and interesting than trying to map out the objectives of those commutes. I have plenty of thoughts and feelings attached to any number of areas here locally, but despite the relative consistency of my commutes around here I feel like my behaviors in given "destinations" tend to be more fixed than my experiences during the drives themselves. In fact, in terms of remembering specific experiences and tying feelings to them and whatnot, I'd even go as far as saying that most of my commuting experiences around here were probably situations I could recall more vividly than something like sitting at a Starbucks on a day off.
The experience is paradoxical to some extent; the Bureau of Public Secrets passage likewise notes its nature as being inherently contradictory. The people involved are asked to adopt an almost ascetic understanding (or lack of understanding) of their surroundings, stripping themselves of their given routines or lifestyles at the time in favor of somehow distancing themselves from the situation enough to subtract their own personal feelings on their local environment to form an objective account, yet still staying in tune with themselves enough to know what those feelings and altered behaviors are, in order to form any sort of conclusion.
The easiest way I could describe it in more concrete terms would be personal echolocation - that is, someone uses their subjective thoughts, emotions, behaviors, etc. to get a feel for and understanding of a given space, and then use those signals that "bounce back" in order to shape a material form for that space. The area(s) in which the drift is performed can either be known or unknown, and the space in which it takes place can be a fixed size or be fluid - but the participants seem to be expected to hold a specific level of articulation towards their feelings from the experience, as well.
In terms of personally orchestrating a dèrive, I think I'd want to emotionally map out the networking between a handful of known spaces; given the area, most of my commutes are either on the highway or interstate to begin with, and I feel like "laying out" an objective account of areas like that would be more introspective and interesting than trying to map out the objectives of those commutes. I have plenty of thoughts and feelings attached to any number of areas here locally, but despite the relative consistency of my commutes around here I feel like my behaviors in given "destinations" tend to be more fixed than my experiences during the drives themselves. In fact, in terms of remembering specific experiences and tying feelings to them and whatnot, I'd even go as far as saying that most of my commuting experiences around here were probably situations I could recall more vividly than something like sitting at a Starbucks on a day off.
08.27.16 | Blog Debrief, Week 1
I wasn't able to attend the Josh Green Artist Residency, but I was at least able to get a license for Sketchup Pro 2015 through Creation Engine - in fact, I had made the order earlier in the Thursday class period and had received my serial code for it by the time class had ended. My experience with 3D modeling is pretty minimal (with the only real material project wrought out of 3D modeling coming from a past Intro to Digital Studio Practice course), so it's definitely going to take some getting used to. That being said, this summer I was finally able to start programming / general game development, and since music production / SFX design / art assets / programming / etc. are all things I have experience with, 3D modeling is basically the last domino I'm trying to learn in that regard, so I was already pretty interested in the subject. I did download Blender (a free 3D modeling tool) during the summer, but I haven't actually gone through any tutorials on it yet.
That being said, I have had a ton of fun with material / texture design, even if I'm not especially seasoned in it - using noise rendered through Photoshop and then run through Unreal Engine 4's material editor I was able to produce a "glitter vinyl" (e.g. that sparkling metallic finish you see on some cars) material in a couple hours: reference images
I've also began George Kopec's video tutorials, and getting out of my comfort zone and watching tutorial videos in general is something I've been trying to get better about lately. Everything seems pretty straightforward - the biggest hurdle for me with 3D modeling is just a means for keeping everything geometrically aligned / proportionate while still operating in three-dimensional space.
That being said, I have had a ton of fun with material / texture design, even if I'm not especially seasoned in it - using noise rendered through Photoshop and then run through Unreal Engine 4's material editor I was able to produce a "glitter vinyl" (e.g. that sparkling metallic finish you see on some cars) material in a couple hours: reference images
I've also began George Kopec's video tutorials, and getting out of my comfort zone and watching tutorial videos in general is something I've been trying to get better about lately. Everything seems pretty straightforward - the biggest hurdle for me with 3D modeling is just a means for keeping everything geometrically aligned / proportionate while still operating in three-dimensional space.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
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