SHINE project
Augmented reality art
Laura Nooijen - VMT1e
For the subject personality, we had to make something for an exposition in school. We could make anything, if it showed people what we are good at.
I decided to make an AR artwork to show my creative mindset and way of telling a story.
My steps: research on what setting I want to create (brainstorm), moodboard & styleboard, character design, testing the app I am going to use (Slide AR), putting everything together.
My teachers thought of this as a very ambitious project and like how I am open to new things and challenges. One said I could also use a 3D program to really give it some volume, but as I am not as experienced in Blender, I thought my idea with AR would present my skills best!
Brainstorm
I decided on a fantasy-like setting so I could go all out with my creativity.
Moodboard
Styleboard
Story
To bring my world to life, I had written a short story so people could be swept away in it!
Once there was a traveller. He wandered around the world in search for the most beautiful places on earth. He was unhappy, though, for he had not found such place yet.
Years and years passed by. It seemed like Father Time was working faster than ever before and the traveller was getting old. Oh, how dearly he wanted to see a beautiful place just before he was going to pass away. It would be his dying wish.
At night, when the old traveller had fallen asleep against an old tree in a deep dark forest, a stray tear fell from his eye onto his wrinkled cheek.
The little drop of water fell onto a full-grown dandelion and seeped into the heart of the small plant. The feathers soon drifted away with the wind, carrying the traveller’s tear.
Deep, deep into that same forest, little fairies lived. They fluttered around a treehouse that seemed big for them, but small for a human.
One of the dandelion feathers floated into a small hanging hut, the house of a curious little fairy. She examined it and plucked the tear off of it. She knew something was special about this small drop and whispered softly to it. A trail of wisps formed a path towards one point of the forest. As curious as she was, the little fairy decided to follow this trail.
After a while, soft snoring could be heard. It was the old traveller she saw. The little fairy flew closer, but as the fluttering of her wings woke up the human, she backed off and hid in fear.
“Do not worry, little fairy, for I am here in peace.”
The fairy came back from her hiding spot and greeted the old man with a graceful bow. She knew this was his last day on earth, so she decided to show him her home as a farewell-gift. The traveller followed the little fairy and after a while of walking and stumbling on tree roots, he reached the most beautiful place on earth.
He sat down against a rock, somewhere near the treehouse and closed his eyes.
He sighed out his final breath with a smile.
Now, when you go into the forest again, keep looking for a beautifully decorated stone. Because not far from there, you’ll find the most beautiful place on earth.
Character design (fairy)
Objects design
Feedback I got from a classmate was that I had a nice concept and that I maybe could show the inside of one of the small houses and make that 3D/AR as well. Sadly that was not something I could do with the app I was going to use. Instead, I came with the idea to model the same house in Blender if I had enough time after this main project.
Scene sketches/compositing
I chose the second one as I liked the placement of the houses better (created more dept) and the tree had a more exaggerated shape; it looked livelier.
Drawing process & testing
Result
My space in the exposition
Evaluation
I am very happy with the final product and I am very proud to say teachers and many students at the exposition were impressed with my artwork!
I have not come across any obstacles when working on this as I promised myself not to do another big, ambitious project (like the picture book) in order to reduce stress and pressure from myself.
What I got out of this project and the exposition, was personal growth, mostly. I got a real confidence boost when students told me they had not seen such a great AR artwork like this before.
In conclusion: this project taught me to step out of my comfortzone. Not only in a creative way, but mentally as well!
Thank you for watching!
