Project Brief
Tree of Life is an electronic paint artwork on canvas, which triggers multimedia video upon viewer's touch. We always think painting is only able to observe in a distance, but it might be able to touch, to feel, and to interact as well.
Tree of life brings the viewer a sense of hope. The growing branches when people approach the painting, the sound of birds, sea waves and frog singing in a summer pond brings people a sense of wonder. I hope this interactive painting can go beyond "decoration", helping them to forget about anxiety and nervousness for a second, only enjoy and immerse into the "Wonderland" which Tree of Life creates.
Tree of life brings the viewer a sense of hope. The growing branches when people approach the painting, the sound of birds, sea waves and frog singing in a summer pond brings people a sense of wonder. I hope this interactive painting can go beyond "decoration", helping them to forget about anxiety and nervousness for a second, only enjoy and immerse into the "Wonderland" which Tree of Life creates.
This project is inspired by the project Awake.io.
Timeline & My Role
3 weeks | Feb - March 2018
Personal Project | Fabrication, Animation Design, Physical Computing, Projection Mapping
Featured Show | Emily Carr Studio Open Day 2018
I. Process - Fabrication
I laser cut the shape of tree branches (drew in Adobe illustrator) on paper. Then paint on canvas with electronic paint. The whole design separated the tree into three main branches, and isolate them with each other. In this case, connecting the branches of the tree with the microcontroller, we can control the generated graphic with different branches.
II. Process - Animation Design & Interactivity
Tree of Life is a projection-mapping painting, upon the presence of people appoarch closer to the painting, the tree started to "grow".
Animation were pre-rendered in Adobe After Effects. And the interactivity was controlled by a Ultrasound sensor.
III. Visual Design - Theme I: Forest
Upon touching certain branches on the "tree", Tree of life blends towards the edge of the painting with birds flying off from the tree, and you can hear the pleasant sound of bird whispering. Creating a sense of peace and wonder.
III. Visual Design - Theme II: Cherry Blossom
The second animation of Tree of Life is Cherry Blossom. Upon touching the tree, you can hear the sound of a summer pond with flying cherry blossom.
III. Visual Design - Theme III: Seaside
The third animation of is seaside. The sound of waves and peaceful blue bringing a sense of calm and mindfulness.
IV. The future of Interactivity - Beyond a Painting
The creation of Tree of Life challenges the idea of painting as a static decoration object. In the near future, imagine having Tree of Life in your living room, as a live system helping you to create the mindfulness and peaceful personal space.
This 3-week rapid prototyping project still has a large space of improvement: The pre-rendered animations could be generative, providing more possibility of randomness and changes.
