Over the past year I worked on several client projects and got a fulltime job (which I am no longer at), which kept me pretty busy. When I did get some time, I ended up experimenting with typography, color, simulations (particles, springs, and fluid), audio-input and simple rule based systems. These images are the results of half a year or so of coding, tinkering, tweaking, manipulating, and massaging algorithms for generative typography. Read more about these images and how these were created. (more…)
Fields are an important concept to understand in generative design, they are the things that can control compositions and create natural pattern formation. In my work, either particles are interacting with each other and defining their movement or they movement is based on a field in the space where they are put, or both. The images in this post were generated by a real-time particle simulation of 5000 charged particles interacting with magnetic fields. This fundamental theory/law is used to derive their motion is based on the Lorentz Law in Fields and Waves. In physics Lorentz Force defines how a charged particle (point charge) is affected by an electromagnetic field. Lorentz Law states that the force on a changed particle or point charge is equal to the charge of the particle times the electric field which it is placed in, plus its charge times its velocity crossed with the magnetic field present. If there is more than one magnetic field, this equation can be solved for each magnetic field and summed to get the total resultant force. One thing to keep in mind is that these equations yield a vector force (i.e.. 3D), hence these are 3D renderings. These images were generated solely using the latter half of the equation that just uses the magnetic field (electrostatic field calculation are computational expensive and require more clever calculation and programming techniques to render in real-time…I’ll get to this later 
. Its hard to see in these images, but I used the camera distance from the particle to calculate its opacity, this simulates fog and gives the images better depth.
I got the opportunity to work on a real-time video installation in NYC taking place in the Mixed Greens Gallery. The installation, LoveHateNow, is collaboration between artist, Alexander Reyna and creative technologist Heidi Hysell. I helped with the design of the visual elements, coding, real-time graphics development and visualization of the real-time data streams. If you are in New York November 18, 2010–January 8, 2011, you should definitely check this installation out:
Opening: Mixed Greens Gallery, NYC, Saturday, November 20, 6-8pm
“LoveHateNow is a constantly evolving, real-time, mixed media triptych exploring the mood of New York City through live internet feeds…Viewers will witness a constantly changing landscape of numbers, words, and images projected onto an algorithmically generated triptych…the piece streams information from the The New York Times, the local weather report, Twitter, and other sources. The result is a snapshot that changes based on the minute-to-minute information it receives.”
This is a post about a presentation I gave at LAVA: Los Angeles Visual Artists, a group of people dedicated to exploring new ways of creating and mixing visuals, VJs/DJs/Artists/Designers.
Overall my research and interest span many categories, but one of the areas I am particularly interested in is real-time interactive systems. Things that people can play with and learn with. Things that react to our input and designing these reactions and interactions with technology and media.
This image represents a novel way of thinking about an interface. In the future interfaces will no longer be static 2D images with drop shadows on our displays. These interfaces will take 3D form and structure. These interfaces will be flexible, morph-able, liquid and intelligent. This is a mock up of a real-time 3D interface to data in a computer. Each rectangle is unique and represents unique data. Additionally the layout is based on relationship from one data file to another. Based on properties, such as data created, nearest neighboring files, etc.
This was an overview of the things I talked about. The image is the same data interface morphed into another structure. Continue after the jump for the rest of the presentation. I go into mathematics, geometry, open sound control, wireless control, mobile interaction, crowd sourcing, real-time multi-user multimodal interfaces, and algorithmic form creation, and real-time synthesized visuals for VJing.
It’s about time for an update…I was super busy this summer and fall with work/school/life. Yet I am still working quite hard on researching and creating novel methods for image making using generative methods. These images were created with a processing sketch that utilizes springs and particles. The program allows you to enter a string. Then that string’s type is traced out, thus rendering its outline. This outline consists of a set of points. These points are transformed into particles, which are connected (via springs) to other particles in their proximity. The springs apply force fo the particles which keeps them together and also apart. Then gravity is applied to these particles, which causes wet paint-like drips to form in the image (when the background of the image is not cleared of course). I interact with the decomposition of the text’s form via the mouse (soon to be the touch screen of an iPad). This interaction pushes particles away from the mouse’s position in such a way, that it resembles paint splattering on a canvas or a pseudo Jackson Pollock effect. The process of creating the image is fun, and really where the magic happens, where you can see the decomposition process unfold before your eyes. Check out the video and more images
I am developed a piece of software that makes generative images based on a trace by the user. I sketched out my name and then feed that into my program which rendered different version of the trace. The program uses a dynamic particle system to trace out the curves/lines/etc. The particles are constantly dying and being spawned and the tracer head is constantly moving, thus creating sketchy representations of the original. The particle system’s parameters can be varied to produce a range of images in different styles. These are just a couple of outcome of the software. If there is any interest in the software, let me know, i’ll release the source or code when I have time. See (more…)
Read about it here.