Category Archives: Animation

Time in Motion Series by Fong Qi Wei

Animation, Art,

many time slices of the same view expanding in a circle

Chinatown Sunset, 2013, All Rights Reserved by Fong Qi Wei

This is a follow up to my previous series Time is a Dimension (TIAD). In TIAD, I spliced different time slices into a single print. That was to work within the nature of a physical print. However, in this set of manipulations, I present a medium that is neither a print nor a video. In short, I use the GIF format (don’t ask me how it is to be pronounced!) to create a looping animation that shows a single landscape / seascape but with a constant shimmer of … time.

I wonder if an omniscient being experiences something like the sets below? Where all instances are One. And past, present and future are merely terms…

via Fong Qi Wei.

Originally Found from Electric Objects

Project Idea: A story illustrated with Cinemagraphs

Animation, Art, , , , , ,

Cinemagraphs are beautiful little pictures where most of it is still and some of it is moving.

Let me show, not tell:

Cinemagraph from If We Don't, Remember Me

Yes, this one is moving. Patience.

Our vision works by making comparisons to what it last saw. This is why we are best at seeing things that are in motion. This is why advertisements always have things zooming at us and flashing. Your whole visual system is designed to detect big differences and motion. They are what prey and predator look like.

This is why the best cinemagraphs are subtle, so very subtle.

A Cinemagraph from Ghost World, where only the record and her chest move.

My first thought was: Oh, like Harry Potter.
And then I thought – wouldn’t that be so boss to write a story and have these little gems in it?

So far, I’ve written a story that illustrates itself anew every viewing by grabbing pics from flickr and a poem with moving tentacles. If I have another story, and it fits, I’d like to illustrate it with something still and small and wonderful like these.

Some places I’ve seen great cinemagraphs:From Me To You and If We Don’t, Remember Me.

A Poem about Proper Paperwork

Animation, Art, Hacks, Lit, , , ,

Today is my birthday, and I’ve been overwhelmed with happy birthday wishes. I’m very fortunate and grateful.
I’d like to give you a gift back.
Here is a poem about the importance of filling out forms.
Please enjoy “We Know” in a browser like Chrome or Firefox.

Tonight we will be having dinner at Superfine in DUMBO and then off to see “Black Watch” at the St Ann’s theater. Perhaps we will see you Saturday at Cinco de Matto?

Project Idea: Render Images with Dice Rasterization

Animation, Get.rich.quick, Hacks, Video, , , ,

This great video by Fujiya & Miyagi inspired me:

Why not write a Processing sketch that will take an image and render it in dice? It might be fairly easy:
Divide the image into square sections.
Calculate the average brightness of that square – like I did in my engraving sketch. 1
That average brightness should fall in one of six or 12 levels of brightness.
Choose a die face that matches that brightness level.
Paste that image into the image.
Done!

What could you do with that? You could produce a print. You could use it as a guide for actually laying out the dice and putting them in a frame – or using them to print letterpress style.

When you get into the physical dice, laying them out gets tedious. The next big step would be to have an arduino system 2 that picks up dice and places them for you.

You could offer physical pieces for sale.

  1. Click on the picture. The farther right you click, the lower the brightness cutoff. The higher you click, the finer the line detail.   (back)
  2. Arduino controller code is based on Processing   (back)