Over the Hills and Far Away

Probably the best thing about Unity's terrain toolbox is the ability to easily & quite rapidly create very large environments (in which to place one's digital sculptures). See below:

Over the Hills and Far Away, 2020, digital image

 

The Domain of Psyche

 Another new monochrome painting in the Psyche series.

The Domain of Psyche, 2020, acrylic on plywood, 14" x 11"

Thought Worlds of Psyche

 A continuation of the Psyche series, this is a small monochrome acrylic painting that opened up some new avenues of artistic exploration, I think.

Thought Worlds of Psyche, 2020, acrylic on plywood, 14" x 11"

Psyche Gold video

 This is a short screen capture video (no sound) from Unity to show the Psyche sculpture animated with particle effects. This is intended to be used as an AR installation, ultimately.

Psyche Gold, 2020, screen capture from Unity

Psyche—Planetary Eye version

 I painted the acrylic piece below specifically to try & use as a texture in Blender on the Manna From Psyche variation also below. Not too bad. I will probably try some more variations...

Planetary Eye, 2020, acrylic on plywood, 14" x 11"

Psyche (planetary eye version), 2020, digital image

More Psyche

 Here are a couple more new pieces. The first one is a painting of the 2 Psyches (goddess & asteroid) -- I want the digital & traditional work to complement & feed off of each other, & it's getting easier to switch between the two. The other image is a Blender rendering with the painting inserted as a texture within a frame. The idea partly comes from Max Ernst, who used his bird avatar, Loplop, to introduce various things (Loplop introduces the surrealists, even Loplop introduces Loplop...)

Manna from Psyche, 2020, acrylic on plywood, 14" x 11"

Psyche presents Manna from Psyche, 2020, digital image

Pscyhe: and now in metallic finish

I was experimenting with the preset materials in Blender (3D software) & realized that Psyche the asteroid/planetary core is probably/possibly metallic in origin, hence this version in a reddish metallic finish. I also realize that in space, iron does not rust & turn reddish, but this still seemed appropriate & visually appealing...

Manna from Psyche revisited

Manna from Psyche is/was the AR installation I created (with the help of ASU's Meteor Studio) for the Emerge Festival scheduled for Mesa, Arizona in the spring, which was unfortunately canceled due to the pandemic. We did manage to launch the installation (it should still be available on the App & Play stores), but it was a last-minute fix & some features were rushed, etc. So, now that I have more time (& appropriate skills in better shape), I'm revisiting the idea. You can see some early new prototype ideas below...

PsycheAR on the App Store

Just a note to say it's available. It may only work in Mesa AZ (I'll have to check on that & update this). Unfortunately, the Emerge Festival 2020 for which it was created has been postponed due to COVID19 concerns.

Just search the App Store for "PsycheAR". It's free to download & use. That is all.

(Or use this link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/psychear/id1502035232?ls=1)

App Store screen grabs

Manna From Psyche AR tabletop edition

Here is a handy sized version of the giant AR installation intended for Emerge Festival 2020 in Mesa, AZ. Unfortunately the festival has been postponed due to Coronavirus concerns, but Psyche will live on...

Manna From Psyche, 2020, augmented reality

This is marker-based AR -- the Meteor Studio sticker is the visual cue that activates the digital overlay. Thanks to Robert LiKamWa and Aashiq Shaikh from Meteor Studio with all their invaluable help and input on this.

Manna From Psyche short video

Here is a video we shot on an iPhone 7 the other day in Mesa, Arizona, outside the Mesa Arts Center where the forthcoming Emerge Festival will be held. The video is merely a demonstration of how the AR (augmented reality) piece will work & is not very polished. However, I think it gives a pretty good idea of what it will look like. More images coming soon.

Sneak peek AR project

Here is a teaser for my next intended AR (augmented reality) project. Early days yet & this may change in the process (it most likely will)...