A. Project Title
Magic Brush (Preliminary Name)
B. Project Statement of Purpose
Our midterm project Duet Beat is a machine that can generate customized music based on the users’ heartbeats and arm movements. Now that we have learned the Processing language, we would like to switch from the field of music into visual arts. In our final project, what we want to make is some equipment that can help users come up with their own paintings with the minimum effort. This new project would not only inherit the features favored by our users – accessibility and availability, but also integrate the new skill sets we learned after the midterm. We expect to come up with a drawing machine for the widest audience who do not necessarily need to have prior art training. By moving the joystick, pushing the buttons and adjusting knobs, everyone can create a painting with their own characteristics.
C. Project Plan
In our final project, there will be a box with multiple joysticks, buttons, and knobs. By adjusting the parameters, users will be able to come up with a customized brush to paint on the canvas in Processing. The brush can either be a normal one or in the form of pixels. We will also install some sensors, including but not limited to sound sensors and light sensors to reflect the environment the user is in when composing his or her artwork. When choosing components, we are going to use those in bigger size so it is more easy for our users to navigate through the control. Our box will be made by means of laser cutting. In the first stage, we are going to connect the components within Arduino and set the codes to transfer parameters into Processing. After that, we will decide in what form should the painting brush appear on the canvas and integrate it into our codes in Processing. In the end, we will explore ways to add features such as pixels and generative art in order for our users to create more sophisticated contemporary paintings.
D. Context and Significance
In my preparatory research, I found two projects featuring pixels to explain my definition of interaction. The beginning point is the project I really like – Cellular Automata and the Age of Chaos. However, from two aspects can this project be refined to enhance its accessibility to a wider audience. On one hand, we can input the parameters using means of physical computing instead of typing in numbers. On the other hand, the output is not so intuitive. More often than not, what users can get is just a bunch of pixels that is hard to interpret its artistic value. The biggest feature of our final project is accessibility so these two problems should be solved to allow the biggest audience to create their own artwork. Other ways to enhance our accessibility includes using bigger buttons/ knobs or even Leap Motion. In terms of interaction, this program has meet the following standards: it involves two actors, there are inputs through means of physical computing and visual outputs on the canvas. And it is usable to everyone. We hope by using this equipment. Those who did not have prior art training will also be able to find confidence of being an artist or even redefine his or her personal values. The bottom line for us is to make a paint brush on a white canvas but we will definitely find methods to integrate more aesthetic values for the sketches that our users create.