Final Form

Having refined the code to my structured form it was time to mess with it. I found through the transformations  my focus was in the centre of the image due to the imposing dark space. I wanted to fill this space with the brightness of the fragments so that not only did the composition shift from structure to noise but the lightness of the image flipped as well.

Here I returned to the 'autumn' colour scheme I had in the beginning to see how the composition would work having a bright background instead of a dark one and although the final 'cross' that appears at the end is quite strong the overall series is quite hard to look at from its brightness.

Lastly I adjusted how strictly the random and drag components of the code acted and gained something that looked a little like this;

These will be my final forms. The colour scheme is a combination of the cobweb and frost precedents where it is highly desaturated but there are hints of blue within it. The thing I like most about this series of forms is that when looking at the first and last items there is virtually no resemblance but the two stage in between link them rather nicely. The degrading of structure to noise is heavily present in not just how the actual structure changes but the colours as well. The numerous overlaps create a range of densities, therefore a range of shades within the final one that are non-existent in the first stage. Now It's just a matter of print testing...

Interactive Objects

The Needlebox is designed to create a full touch sensory experience. The adjustable wire ‘combs’ allows the user to alter the angle at which the needles point to create an artificial ‘grain’, selecting whether they will massage or stab when stroked. These allow for the user to create their own experience in whether it will be pleasant or painful. They can stroke it, prod it, press it or whatever tickles their fancy. It is only limited by the user’s creativity. The rotating combs and hinge locks make the Needlebox a fully kinetic experience for the user as they are not restricted to just interacting with the needles but the entire box itself.

Instruction

To adjust the angle of the needles first the lock must be raised by pulling up the hinge. Then, whilst holding up the lock, the rod to which the needles are attached is rotated by twisting the non-grooved end on the opposite side to the hinge. For the lock to work the rod must be oriented that one of the five grooves is under the lock’s ridge. The lock is then dropped so that the ridge enters the groove. The angles of the needles don’t have to be all aligned as adjacent combs have been made so that they can cross one another. The two combs closest to the ends of the box can’t be adjusted as much as the others as they will hit the edges of the box.

The purpose of the needles is the sensations they create when pressure is applied to them but the method of which this is done is left up to the user to decide. For better results, apply the needles to a larger surface area.

Pre-submission Reflection... It's Too Late Now

After three days of trail and error workshop experience and a late night with a power drill I have my completed Needlebox. Looking over the completed model there are many things I would try differently if I was to refine the object further. Firstly simple things like the scale, I would like to shrink everything down to make it a bit more delicate but the primary purpose would be to bring the wires closer together so the stroking sensation is a bit more consistent. My main limitation on this was the hinge lock mechanism was the best thing I was able to produce without sculpting my own hinges, and they force the box to be a certain size. I would also want to make the grooves deeper to hold the locks better. Apart from a few minor constrution errors like one end of the box having a slight gap in the joint the final piece came out looking pretty good and overall I'm happy with the result. Plus the grain on your cheek feels way too good to be healthy...
(Pictures in formal submission)

One Step Back, Two Steps Forward

I had to abandon my crystal code as I was unable to get it to fragment the way I wanted it to. Using the same idea, however, I revisited my web code and applied some changes that had some rather cool effects. There is still a lot of room for improvement in this code to get the effect I desire but at least this is a starting point...

A little tweak here and there and the web should break down entirely instead of just stretching, plus there will be random() functions coming out of every orifice to mix things up a little. A splash of colour and a touch of love later and we should have our final.

It's Like NCEA Level 1 Chemistry All Over Again

I've been testing code like it might be guilty of something and came up with couple of interesting structures.  This first came from my cobweb precedent which provides an interesting structure that has room for development into noise. My tutor suggested I break the long lines into individual, smaller lines that can have a random() factor applied to them, disintegrating the structure the more they move. I thought the individual segments could be drawn towards a centre-point, meaning even within all the chaos there is an underlying order.

The frost crystals I was looking into inspired the next set of code that in turn gave me a new precedent once I started experimenting with colours;

And here are the samples;

This 'crystal code' really intrigues me. Over the next few days I will definitely be interested in what else I can produce with it, especially in terms of noise. I was thinking of first adding more to the structure then perhaps fragmenting the crystals by having the main bodies actually constructed of many smaller shapes.

Learning From the Best

I should just do what the technician says. That, I've learnt. My hinges weren't soldering properly. Francis says "sand them down". I sand them down and it still takes forever. Francis says "sand them down properly". I do and try again and we have success within minutes. That's why she runs the workshop and not me...

Here are photos of my prototype. I lost the grooved rod that goes with it before I was able to take these photos but I did have time to test it and it worked pretty well. It's just a matter of making it pretty now :)

Here is the degree to which I have to sand the hinges to expose the steel. Turns out you can't solder to copper either, but hey, you live and you learn.

Suddenly... Triangles

I like triangles, okay. They're a very versatile piece of geometry. I wrote some code to experiment with both loops and colour, as you will see by the development of the next few images. I started off trying to replicate my ice colour scheme in the triangle so see how it looked with solid shapes, the results as follows;

I was pretty happy with the outcome and it gave me a good idea on the range I can explore within that particular colour scheme. I then felt it was appropriate to explore a larger field.

Now that we are able to play with alpha values (transparency) the density of the imagery is just as important when determining the overall colour of the image. The thicker the cloud, the more intense the colours become;

Lastly I realised I was restricting myself to the borders of the image so the last two images conclude my experimentation. I found that having some of the triangles disappear off-screen made the image seem much larger, even though the triangles strayed no further than one hundred pixels either way.

All these experiments have been relatively chaotic as they only really focussed on certain elements. I will try to integrate these elements into the progression from structure to noise but first I need to decide on what sort of structure I want to create...