Natural Force and Form

CS137 Assignment #1

1. Dates

2. Goals

1.      Introduction to design issues of describing natural forces and forms.

2.      Start being creative within the design space of the Cave.

3.      Learn some practical things about working in the Cave: How to get access to the room, how to login, how to run a demo, etc.

3. Readings

·         Check the Calendar page of the website

4. Assignment

Based on the slides and readings find an instance in nature of the cause-and-effect interplay of natural force and form. This might involve patterns of growth, weather, animal locomotion etc.

Two media will be available to you: flat images on planes created on any medium, and 3D strokes, tube patterns or planar segments created in CavePainting. The flat images can be brought into the Cave space, scaled, copied and positioned freely in 3D, including intersection and overlap. Masks can be also imported into the Cave so the flat images have a shape other than an opaque rectangle.

IMPORTANT: Please read through all parts of the assignment before starting on part A.

4.1 Part A

Prepare a short written explanation of the specific interaction of force and form you are working with, citing your sources. . For example, if the force of a river is to be shown in relation to the form of a canyon it has created over time, you should suggest the aspects of the river’s force that have led to the specific forms of the canyon. Conversely, you might speculate on how a living form has evolved specifically to make use of natural force. Your hypothesis should be based on the assigned readings, particularly Stevens, or any other source. It need not be scientifically precise, but it should be specific about the action of the force and its effect on the form, or the character of the form in response to force. You may want to prepare some exploratory sketches of various strategies for representing or explaining your hypothesis for class discussion.

4.2 Part B

Plan and execute a visualization based on your hypothesis and sketches that will show force and form together in such a way that the influence of the force on the form will be understandable

Your approach to visual form in this assignment may be representational or abstract. That is, you can draw recognizable, real-world forms or use simplified or coded structures to build your image. Coded or symbolic representation might be particularly applicable in describing force in the image--it is hard to draw gravity, magnetism or other forces “realistically”—but you can also represent the affected form symbolically, or in terms of its properties. A variable, textured pattern might suggest different density of rocky material, for example, while not really looking like rock. The interaction of force and form should be represented in a way that can be sensed or felt as well as read, but again, it does not have to be realistically depicted. Varying strength of erosive effect, for example, might be shown through color intensity at the point of contact between force and form.

The design that you will present to the class can be created either digitally (photoshop, painter, etc.) or with non-digital mediums (pencil and paper, paint, etc.) It can be 2D or 3D.  Refer to the design readings for basic principles in designing natural form, and for achieving organic unity in the world that you design. While this world does not have to be a realistic depiction of the objects and spaces that exist in nature, it should be evoke natural forms and processes, and suggest organic or holistic interconnection. You will also find on-line the slides with the images that were shown in class of macro/microscopic structures and other natural phenomenon, to provide inspiration for your designs

You are welcome to begin experimenting with CavePainting, creating your 2D images through snapshots of 3D scenes you created at the Cave. For this part B of the assignment, you must create those snapshots and print them out. The critique of this part will be in the CIT #368. You can combine digital or scanned images with sketches of the 3D environments you are thinking about for part C of the assignment. Explain how you are going to combine the different elements in your 3D environment and the effect you want to create.

In class on Wednesday, 9/20, each person will give a short, 2 minute presentation of his or her design.  Start by describing the particular "form-force" event or scene your design depicts and how this relates to the mood you hope to convey to the viewer. Describe your design decisions, paying particular note to the issues mentioned above, in as much detail as you can within the short time frame.  We’ll have time for questions and comments after all the presentations.

4.3 Part C

Bring/recreate your image into the Cave or Fishtank. Based on the first week's design, use the image(s) you created/used to develop a 3D environment that shows the interplay between form and force.

The idea is that you will be designing a new virtual environment for the Cave that is composed of several 2D images imported and positioned in VR as well as 3D form created with the CavePainting system.  This is a chance for you to be as imaginative and creative as possible in designing your own virtual environment.  The worlds can be life-size scale, or you can design a world where the viewer is no bigger than an atom.  You may choose to represent some part of the physical anatomy; a physical, chemical, electrical, or emotional state or event; or anything else that falls within the main theme of the assignment.

The physical space of the Cave are 8x8x8 ft. When designing your world, consider the effects of the scale of the objects that you place in it relative to viewer and the physical space he or she occupies.  How might this affect the viewer’s experience?  Try to create a visually compelling experience for the viewer and establish a mood for the environment.  You might try to evoke a certain feeling or emotion for the viewer, or you might try to provide a perceptually clear and intuitive representation of some scientific phenomenon, real or imagined.  In addition, consider how to visually link any 3D Cave-Painted form that is in your environment with the 2D imagery.  For example, do the 3D paint strokes pass through the 2D form?  Do the 2D images establish a context in which the 3D paint strokes are placed, is it the other way around, or is it a combination of the two situations in your design?  When you present your design to the class, be prepared to explain your decisions about the imagery you chose, its placement in the world, and the link between 3D Cave-Painted form and 2D imagery based on the experience and/or mood you are striving to produce for the viewer.

The 2D images that will be part of your world should exist in digital form, either created digitally or scanned in. You can bring your images on a USB memory stick, CD or DVD. You can download them at the Cave and use them in your design.

4.4 Other tasks

As part of each assignment, there will be a few questions that you should answer.  These can be found at the end of this handout and your answers should be emailed to the TA (daf@cs.brown.edu) by 9 PM on Tuesday 9/26.  Most of these are very short questions intended to help guide you through the assignment.  They should not take long to answer.  Most of the time, a very brief, one sentence or less, answer is sufficient.

In addition to the design task, part of your assignment is to make sure that some very basic Cave administrative items work for you.  Each of you should already have a user name and password (a computer account) created for the Cave and your card should open both doors to get into the room. 

IMPORTANT! There will be a technical help session on Thursday 9/14 at the Cave at 6PM  to walk you through the basics, get your accounts setup, etc.

5. Questions (answer briefly)

1.    What is the subject of your proposed virtual world?

2.    What mood, feelings, and/or emotions will you try to evoke in a viewer experiencing this world?

3.    How can visual form be given to abstract forces or energy principles?

4.    What are some basic natural forms, and how does the character of their form relate to natural forces?

5.    What is the role for movement in your concept design?

6.    What are some examples of linked forms in nature: forms from different realms (atmospheric, liquid, plant, organic, earth, energy) which have analogous character?

7.    If we are to convey the sensation of flying or swimming, how can the arrangement of forms in relation to the viewer’s point of view, create a dynamic sense of place, an invitation to explore, a quality of engagement, comfort, awe, or another emotional or physical quality.

8.    Does your world fit within the “real” space of the Cave (8x8x8 ft) or does it extend beyond the walls?

9.    What did you choose to depict with 2D imagery?  Why?

10.  What did you choose to depict with 3D painted form?  Why?

11.  Did you have any trouble logging in?

12.  Did you have any trouble running CavePainting?

13.  Did you learn how to change colors? Change brush stroke types?

14.  What discussion question do you have from the Cave paper?

15.  In this assignment, what worked, what didn’t work, and how would you change it? (briefly)