jannytew0919

[jannytew0919]

Project 1 - Self-portrait (Red)

This is the second portrait that I created for this AR project which represented the mature passion parts of myself. Each person's body has a hidden personality, is both their yearning while don't often come to appear. 

Red is a sharp and passion colour which create an image of a mature woman inside my head who has the intelligent knowledge, the delicate and a charming high cold queen. This is the concept for my 'red' portrait painting and I try to use sparkling effects on the dress, lip, and makeup to present the maturity of a woman.  

These are the modelling progress of the augmented reality portrait project. The hardest part of modelling is the face model and mapping process. The UV mapping has irregular shapes and it will cause the textures deformed in different facepieces which makes it need to spend more times in this process. 

In this time, I had found the problems of the blend shape animation occur in Unity which is needed to clean the editing history before creating the blend shape and you cannot smooth the object after creating blend shape. This means that I need to smooth the object before create the blend shape which may not suitable for the object that needs smooth editing such as eye slash. However, I still have problems when loading the animation in Unity, it can only show the movement on the lips except for other parts. This augmented reality project is a big challenge for me and I would like to learn more skills in my future practice.

[jannytew0919]

Human & Technology - Self-portrait

Project 1 - Self-portrait

This is the second project that I choose for my final practice which is an augmented reality portrait project. I had drawn my portrait with Adobe Photoshop and using Maya to create the 3D model of the portrait. This is the final outcome for my portrait painting. I have faced many problems on the process when doing this project and spend many times on solving the blend shape problem and export issues. 

I try many methods to solve the abnormity of the blend shapes but it's not working. The shapes will turn into spike reaction in Unity but it's fine in Maya software. There is also a problem during the exporting progress, the exporting working progress has stopped working when it had loading to 90%. These issues have increased my working time and I had to change another way to work on it.  Here is the working progress of the 3D modelling structure.

In the end, I had solved the exporting issue but abandoned the blend shape animation and using hard polygon shape against smooth polygon shape on the flower. Faces animation are failed because of the blend shape's problem and hard polygon's shape is not suitable for the face model. 

This is the outcome image in unity and I had added some particles for the background and it turns out nice in the phone scene. I had learned a lot of new skills in using Unity and I hope that can learn more in the future by getting familiar with the coding programme. 

[jannytew0919]

Daisy

Daisy is a horror escape word’s games that can play on a laptop or smartphone.

        I saved the premise of the game and then modified the content and added a "dilemma" element. Players cannot save the game progress and only a few unimportant plots can have the back and forth function. When the player has been killed in the game or bad ending, he will return to the first start of the game and play it over again. This will be like trapped in this place and you were never escaped. You will come back over and over again until you find the true ending in this game. This is my game concept of this project and I use the different colour to display the different game environment. I want the visual information to create an image inside people's mind just like when you see the word 'apple', you will have an apple image inside your mind.

These are the images that I use in my game. My story is talking about a girl named Lisa who lost her memory and get into a coma for two years. She wakes up in a room of the hospital with a strange man standing beside her bed. It seems like there is nobody except her inside the hospital. The hospital is too quiet, the stranger man, the bad dreams, the daisy flower, and everything is getting weird. She starts walking around and there is daisy everywhere, her memories start clicking back…   Players need to explore different areas to escape from the hospital and be careful not being kill by the evil spirit. There is only a true ending in this game, the others ending are being killed and need to play again. The estimated time for playing this game is between 15 - 30 minutes.

[jannytew0919]

Project 4: Unreliable Experience (Game Making)

Daisy

I am choosing the unreliable experience project as one of the final completed projects in my practice. I am going to continue to do the production of this horror word game and rewrite the game’s story. 

        In the previous stage, I had already written a storyboard and visual concept for this project. I realized that the previous storyline had an unsmooth expression and added players' confusion about the plot. An overly complex story will instead complicate the plot, which decreases the fluent experience and increase production time of word games. So, I used the player's perspective to modify the direction of the game, and I learned that one of the main points of making a game is to be in it. This will allow you to better understand the game's stutter points and make appropriate modifications. 

        I have solved the problems of fonts displaying in other devices without downloading the specific fonts to play the game. Although this solution only can be choosing the given fonts online, but it would be enough and suitable fonts type for my project. I used free music from freesound.org as the background music in the game and credited the music's username at the end of the game. This music is totally the sound that I am looking for and glad can use it in my game.

Thegamemakerqueen. (2019). Greensleeves creepy child for rpg. [Online] Available at: https://freesound.org/people/Thegamemakerqueen/sounds/472100/[Accessed: 08 January 2020]

MrOommen1. (2016). The Tutorial 04 Changing Font Appearance. [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBRVtnIV81I&t=338s[Accessed: 05 January 2020]

[jannytew0919]

Generative Art - Happy Accident (Reflective blog)

Weird Pet Shop

My project idea in this practice is doing a pet’s generative game and pets can have many developing possibilities in species or shapes. It will be an interesting subject that used in generating media and fun experience for creating unknown digital pets. The scene of this game is happening at a mystery traditional pet’s shop owned by a beautiful Chinese lady. The players can pick one egg from the shop and choose the materials to hatch their mystery creature. The egg will hatches into different kinds of creature that relay on the materials chosen by the player. I named this generative game as "Weird Pets Shop" and create the mystery creature related to the Chinese legendary creature such as The Classic of Mountains and Seas or called as "Shan Hai Jing" in Mandarin. I will separate the materials into different groups and when the players using more than 3 materials in that group A, it will randomly hatch into one of the creatures in group A. Each of the group may have five random creatures which have similarities characteristic with the materials that picked by the players. This project has a big challenge of creative skill and I am satisfied with my pixel drawing in this project. This is my first try on the pixel painting and I have totally love with it and decide to practice this skill in my future artwork.

[jannytew0919]

Class Project 7: Happy Accident

Weird Pet Shop

Masgame. (2016). IRL sounds - Mouse click sounds. [Online] Available at: https://freesound.org/people/Masgame/sounds/347544/ [Accessed: 18 November 2019]

Lohengrin, T. (2016). Happy 8bit Loop 01. [Online] Available at: https://freesound.org/people/Tristan_Lohengrin/sounds/343835/ [Accessed: 18 November 2019]

Schad, E. (2019). Comical Vocal Effects. [Online] Available at: https://freesound.org/people/evan.schad/sounds/463214/ [Accessed: 18 November 2019]

Plasterbrain. (2017). Cartoon - Cute Question Mark. [Online] Available at: https://freesound.org/people/plasterbrain/sounds/396195/ [Accessed: 18 November 2019]

[jannytew0919]

Class Project 7: Happy Accident ( Production )

My project idea in this practice is doing a pet’s generative game and pets have many developing possibilities in species or shapes. It will be an interesting subject that used in generating media and fun experience for creating unknown digital pets. The scene of this game is happening at a mystery traditional pet’s shop owned by a beautiful Chinese lady. The players can pick one egg from the shop and choose the materials to hatch their mystery creature. The egg will hatches into different kinds of creature that relay on the materials chosen by the player. Here are the sketches for the generative game - Weird Pets Shop. 

[jannytew0919]

Session 7: Generative Media

Class Project 7: Happy Accident ( Research )

This week, I am going to do a generative media project for my practice. I have done some research on generative arts and games production to help me to get inspiration for my project.

This is a generative game called “Silk” that created by Yuri Vishnevsky, and the music and sound were crafted by Mat Jarvis. This is a free online website that allows users to create and save their own generative artwork after drawing. The drawing stroke in this software was designed as a silk effect stroke and the painting draws in symmetry angle. The users can use their imagination or set the numbers of symmetry to draw the painting. This is the picture that I have drawn in Silk and the strokes are really beautiful, the users can change the color with the control function in this software.

This is an interactive generative game designed by Keiwan Donyagard that evolves user-built creatures using neural networks and an evolutionary algorithm. Players can use a joint point to create a simple shape of their creature and then connected the points with bone. I have tried to create a dog's shape on this game as the picture shows above. However, I found that the hardest part is the muscle parts and it will not move if you did not put the muscle in the right place. 

Vishnevsky, Y. (2013). Silk - Interactive Generative Art. [Online] Available at: http://weavesilk.com/ [Accessed: 13 November 2019]

Donyagard, K. (2017). Evolution - Neural Network & Genetic Algorithm. [Online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQTurXpXd1M [Accessed: 13 November 2019]

Donyagard, K. (2017). Evolution. [Online] Available at: https://keiwan.itch.io/evolution [Accessed: 13 November 2019]

[jannytew0919]

Class Project 3: Making It Real (Reflection)

This video is the production of the projection onto the 3D printing wall for class project 3. I have created a realistic fire in this video but it might don’t seem very clear and having some colour changing effects from the video. This effects only occurred when you record video from the phone and it won’t be appear in the real time projection. This project works perfectly inside a dark environment and the little man looks alive and interesting onto this small model. The angle of the projection still need to be improve and it will be nice if the little man have more action or interacts movement. I will be working on these developments if I choose this project as one of the final projects for my practice.

[jannytew0919]

Class Project 6: Media in Performance (Reflection Post)

From this project, I have received a few feedbacks in my presentation this week. Visual and sound effects will be important factors to be considered as an additional visual experience for the audience. I will continue my performance story for this dance which is about a ballet dancer inside a music box who has abandoned by a human. There was the main purpose that I used the treble clef notes only in the music of the video and make it sounds like a music box sound. I will create a horror story for the dance performance and doing more research on the ballet dancing materials to mix into this digital media performance.

[jannytew0919]

Class Project 6: Media in Performance (Production)

Creepy Ballet Performance

I am going to create a ballet performance with creepy horror music. I start thinking that every time when we are watching a performance, such as dancing and singing performance that mostly only performed with music. It would be nice if apply with visual image into the performance and help the audience to get understand and feel the dance who might not have professional experience at dancing. This will be like watching an MV of a song that provided vision and auditory sense; ballet dance with visual effect performance. 

[jannytew0919]

Session 6: Media Performances

Class Project 6: Media in Performance (Research)

This week, I am going to do a media performance project for my practice. I have done some research on different types of media performances including hologram media, projection performance and live painting performance. 

This video is using hologram and 3D mapping projection for media performance. The actors cooperate with the time changing of the screen and produce a real-time magic performance and the audience can clearly watch the 3D object floating in the air. The performance has created between 3D hologram and 2D projection with 2 different actors in Korea. The hologram performance is very interesting especially the last parts of the video that shows thousand of symbols that looks like programming coding falling down slowly in front of your face. However, it seems a little bit weird and not fit the performance for the actor to have white color hair on the stage. His white hair and the white shirt make him looks like a stage speaker rather than a performance actor. This makes me more consider the media performing factors that might affect user experience.

This is a dancing media performance that shows a combination of virtual and physical space. There are two dancers in this video and they are using the projection mapping as their performing stage. It is very interesting when the stage background is moving and interact with the dancers during the performance. It fully describes the visual of the dance and combining the dancers and stage background together.

This is a media performance about creating a digital painting onto the wall and interact with people. This is a very interesting project because of the artist projected an abstract painting or special effects video onto the wall and help people to have an interesting photograph. At first, the artist can paint any color or create a fantasy background at the wall and paint people into different color when they stand at the position. The painting becomes interesting and alive, but when people leave their position, the wall looks empty except the strange particular color left. 

Vizuaste. (2014). E2 Festa Hologram Media Performance. [Online] Available at: https://vimeo.com/113453385 [Accessed: 02 November 2019]

Mounier, M. (2010). LIVE DIGITAL LIGHT PAINTING - live New Media performance by Matéo M ( First performed in Montreal 2002 ).[Online] Available at: https://vimeo.com/11237216 [Accessed: 02 November 2019]

 Naos. (2016). Projection Dance Performance (Teaser). [Online] Available at: https://vimeo.com/68705030 [Accessed: 02 November 2019]

[jannytew0919]

Class Project 5: Hacking as Creative Method (Reflective Post)

From this project, I had done a few experiments by using Arduino and the process is quite entertaining but exhausted. During the Crystal Ball experiment, I have working it with my classmates because most of us are not familiar with this hardware and it is extremely difficult for a beginner that also not familiar with programming. Arduino is popular with it’s quick and easy creation platform for people to create their own project and the company also provide some free programming codes for their customers. We had faced some connection problems for uploading the programming codes onto the Arduino hardware in the first stage. After trying out about half an hour, we finally solved that problem and make the screen appears some answers as it functions as a crystal ball when you touch the connector. We can do a changing for those answers to make it fun or weird words if we decide to complete this project in this practice. The experiment of the keyboard instrument has no worked out as the expectation but the sound becomes interesting and weird on the keyboard.

[jannytew0919]

Class Project 5: Hacking as Creative Method (Production)

https://jannytew.wixsite.com/mysite-3/video?wix-vod-video-id=4c8b3896d5e7454da6ea1efe0b0afb50&wix-vod-comp-id=comp-k2am5048#

[jannytew0919]

Session 5: Hacking as Creative Methodology

Class project 5 - Hacking as Creative Method (Research)

This week, I am learning a new device called Arduino, which is open-source hardware that designs and manufactures single-board microcontrollers or kits for building digital devices. I have done a few pieces of research about Arduino hardware and after that, I am going to do a few experiments by using Arduino in my project.

Arduino is a low-cost microcontroller board that can connect to all kinds of sensors, lights, motors, and other devices by using the program software to create amazing creations. With this quick and easily creation platform, people can making their own projects in a low-cost budget. People who use Arduino did not need to have a high qualification in electronics and programming, they just need a simple knowledge of Arduino and uploading the program to build a prototype.

Kushner, D. (2011). The Making of Arduino. [Online] Available at: https://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/hands-on/the-making-of-arduino [Accessed: 26 October 2019]

[jannytew0919]

Class Project 4: Unreliable Experience (Reflective Post)

This is my favourite project among all the subjects in this practice and this horror game helps me to explore the creativity and narrative interaction. Texts interaction is an interesting subject and is the best challenge of using creative words or storytelling skills to interact with the readers. I have using Twine software to create this game and there are a few problems occur during the production stage. The specific fonts in this game can only be presented on the hardware that had downloaded the fonts and this has seriously affected my interactions with the players. I will try to find a way to solve this problem or changing other software to making this game in my final practice. Besides the fonts, I will add some music and sound effects in this game the enhance the playing experiences and continue to write on the game’s story. I will practice using sounds to create a visual environment and enrich the imagination of the readers after listening to the sound.

[jannytew0919]

Class Project 4: Unreliable Experience (Production)

I am using Twine software to create a horror game and it is a fast learning software for you to create a simple game. This is my first try on doing games and I found that it is fun-even the coding stuff has made me crazy. My project name is Daisy, a flower that means innocence, purity and secret love. Actually, I got my inspiration for this project is when I drinking the chrysanthemum tea and I feel the flowers look very beautiful after it opens in the hot water. The flowers are dry, small, and dead, but they grow after pouring inside the water. 

This is the cover image of the game. 

Here is the story introduction for the game -  The story is about a girl named Lisa who lost her memory and get into a coma for two years. She wakes up in a room of the hospital with a strange man standing beside her bed. It seems like there is nobody except her inside the hospital. The hospital is too quiet, the stranger man, the bad dreams, the daisy flower, and everything is getting weird. She starts walking around and there is daisy everywhere, her memories start clicking back...  

Here are parts of the story passages graph of the project and the players need to make a choice in each story stage. They need to be careful about making their choice because that is no return in this game. The choice that they made will lead them to a different ending.

Flower Meaning. (2019). The Daisy Flower: It’s Meanings and Symbolism. [Online] Available at: https://www.flowermeaning.com/daisy-flower-meaning/ [Accessed: 22 October 2019]