Stephen Jordan, Projection 1: Background Mapping

 Concept 

Observing the ATEC building, looking for unique forms to "activate," I couldn't help but feel lost in how spacious it was. After searching and ideating and taking dozens of photos, I decided my main concept would be to invoke the feeling of the galaxy surrounding the viewer, little particles all moving in different time, but working together and still feeling harmonious.

In the end, using different textures and materials, I wanted three distinct compositions to own their portions of the space, but flow together, and seem to live and breathe as one unit. 

Techniques

The first bit of ideation I did for this project was learning about the nature of Materials/Pixel Shaders in MadMapper. I learned how to layer them, blend them, and fine tune their parameters, so that I could achieve the vision I had for my ATEC galaxy. 

To apply these concepts to the space, I considered the unique aspects of the forms that would be useful for developing a theme. I zeroed in on a blueish-gray accent wall to the right of the space, a walkway that connects the left and right walls, and a wooden accented space at the highest point in my composition. 

Pictured below is my canvas, the space with no forms applied to it yet. The material shown on the left is the main engine behind the left side of the composition, which I Voronized through the FX panel and layered, to give it a sort of shimmery, broken glass feel.

 

 

In an effort to fully activate the space, I used the colors of the accent wall as the base for my materials on the left wall, and utilizing the walkway as a conceptual bridge between the two units. I wanted the space to feel as if the accented blue were coming to life, eternally shifting and crawling and being this nebulous creature that was taking over the entire space. I let the wooden office remain its own, shimmering, unendurable galaxy, while tying in some of its light, rolling dunes into the space below. 

Interpretation

In the above video, I flip through the natural progression of each composition until they are all working together, flowing as I had original envisioned. 

 

It starts steadfast on the left, where the nebulous planet and wooden galaxy remain still. Then, on the right side of the space, the blue wall becomes activated, travelling across the walkway, sending-ripples across the glassy surface of the space around the nebulous planet. 

 

I'm happy with the way they harmonize, and all seem to flow in one direction, across the space and over the viewer, though they might be a little bit gaudy all together. I think I have more to learn about subtlety in materials.