Motion Painting
This idea was influenced by my interest in interactive art exhibits. We found this interactive art exhibit called Leap Motion in Tampa, Florida. This piece was especially interesting because it showed people interacting with the piece just by moving their hands/body and the output on the screen was just random shapes in random colors moving symmetrically to them. This reminded me of the activities we did in recitation, just without the motion. This project inspired my idea for the final because I thought it was really neat how a piece of art could be controlled by a users movements. At the same time, I really liked the output and how there were different outputs that randomly showed up according to the different users who tested it.
This project aligns with my definition of interaction because there is an input given by the user and an output from the exhibit. Similarly, the project will also run on its own if there is not a user there and it’s just an ongoing cycle of input/output.
For Motion Painting, we wanted to implement a motion sensor so that it could sense the different movements a user would make. Then using Processing, we would display different shapes and colors according to whatever motions the user made. We were also thinking about making certain strokes that could correspond with the users movement. Of course, we would need to put the motion sensor somewhere so that the user would know where to move, so we were thinking about having a “controller” that would be covered by some sort of dome that we would 3D print or fabricate.
To start out, we need to figure out how to link Arduino with the motion sensor, and Processing together to make our project. Since motion sensors are fairly sensitive, we wanted to get all of the code done early so we have enough time to play with different sensors and test their sensitivity before fabricating the controller. After figuring out and prototyping the controller, we will start the 3D printing process. Then after that, we will put some finishing touches and our project will be done!
Our timeline:
11/22 Start coding and test motion sensors
11/26 Continue coding and testing our project
12/3 Finish the code for Arduino and Processing and test the circuit
12/4 Fabricate the controller
12/6 Finish the project
12/9 Finishing touches by 9th
Since we are re-creating something that already exists, our take has a different approach to it. We wanted the display on the screen to be different colors and shapes but for it to easily be customized if the user wanted to do so. Our contribution to this piece is for there to be more pieces of work that can do similar things so that more and more people are able to experience it. We wanted to create this so that it could potentially be displayed in exhibits for the public to appreciate.
We wanted to make this project for everyone to be able to use and have fun with. At the same time, we wanted to make this project for people that are especially interested in interactive media art and would come just to see this art piece. The meaning we wanted to interpret into this project was that you don’t need a pen/pencil and paper in order to create art. Art comes in many different forms and “motions.” We wanted to break the barriers between the standards of art, that it doesn’t necessarily have to be physical to be considered art. I think this project will hold a lot of value for people who truly appreciate art and understand that there are many ways to create meaningful pieces or work.
“Sometimes when people learning about physical computing hear that a particular idea has been done before, they give up on it, because they think it’s not original. What’s great about the themes that follow here is that they allow a lot of room for originality. Despite their perennial recurrence, they offer surprises each time they come up. So if you’re new to physical computing and thinking to yourself “I don’t want do to that, it’s already done,” stop thinking that way! There’s a lot you can add to these themes through your variation on them.” (Igoe)
This quote from Physical Computing’s Greatest Hits (and misses) by Tom Igoe really stuck out to me because my partner and I were thinking the same exact things. We were planning on re-creating a project and worried about the fact that our project may not be as original as others. But, we thought about the different ways we could implement and personalize it so that we could call it our own and overcame that obstacle just by talking about it.