Creative Group Project (1)

Creative Group Project

Karishma BhadesiaMarzena Chmielewska

Daniel CrispAlexandra Panayi

John Perez

Background

Background• Generative art – what is it?• Desmond Paul Henry – pioneer in Computer Arts

during the 1960’• Created by using 3 mechanical drawing machines

Yuri Vishnevsky• 21st century is a major development time in this

area• Yuri Vishnevsky’s “Silk” web- based program

which allows the user to create paintings with swipe of finger or a computer mouse

Sergio Albiac• Another recent example produced by Sergio

Albiac, uses images sourced from the Hubble Space Telescope to create a series of space-age portraits.

Concepts

Futurism• 20th century – beginning of futurism as art

movement• Instead of looking back, artists celebrated the

future, making technology and innovation the primary subject

• Key characteristics are colour, movement and geometric forms to express dynamic modern life

• Repetitive patterns and shapes can be replicated using for-loops

Giacomo Balla, Abstract Speed + Sound, (1913–1914) Umberto Boccioni, 'Elasticity' (1912)

Pointillism• First seen in 1886• Specific technique where small dots of pure

colour are placed on the canvas in close proximity• This could be replicated with eclipse tool and

colour variable linked to user input

Seurat’s La Parade de Cirque(1889)Vincent van Gogh, Self Portrait, (1887)Georges Lemmen, The Beach at Heist, (1891/2)

Expressionism• Began in 20th century in Germany• Emotion and experiences by drastically distorting

the traditional view of the world, without conventional restrictions

• Using a webcam we could use facial recognition and possibly feature detection to analyse the user’s mood which could affect the colours used or the amount of distortion applied to the image

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh (1889)Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Nude (1914)

Issues

Issues• System should be easily understandable by user• Coding may also restrict creativity if each variable

is only responsible for one component of the piece

• Ideally we should allow each variable to react with each other

• Result of this should be pieces which are highly individualised

• We would like user to experience project creativity instead of being guided by rules

Goals

Goals• Allow user to semi-autonomously create art within ONE

conceptual domain.• Must be under control of the artist.• Fun to use.• Accessible to everyone.• Record and analyse multiple complimentary user inputs.• Visualise these in an effective and apparent way.• Give user feedback.• Ability to save pieces.• Create an engaging, user-friendly interface that

promotes creativity.• Ensure all output is distinguishable and unique.

Practicalities

30/01 - Start of Project

28/03 – Project Deadline

6th February- Understand the project brief- Form ideas - Background research

20th February - Complete sections 1-3 of documentation- Ideas for design of

software and hardware

27th February- Allocation of key

tasks amongst group- Develop software

and hardware

13th March - Test the code- Get hardware parts

cut and soldered

27th March- Add final touches to

hardware, software and documentation

- Test the system

13th February- Choose conceptual

domain- Finalise idea- Start Documentation

23rd February - Midterm Project Review; Sections 1-3 of documentation due

6th March- Continue working on

documentation and development of software/hardware

20th March - Perfect the code- Finalise the creation

of hardware

Design

Design

Key components• Webcam• Microphone • Pressure Pads

Each of these offer a different type of input into the software.

Why we chose this design?

• We wanted to create something fun and user friendly.

• It mimics the appearance of an artists paint palette

• We took into consideration following variables:- Left and right handed users- Suitable for different hand sizes- Position of microphone- Balancing it right so in the end it would remind static- LED lights would respond to the use of the pressure pads and microphone and feedback will be given

Prototype

Prototype

Cardboard model we created which, in the end looks exactly like our final product.