Concept / Goals
For this project I set out to try and recreate the colors, textures, and atmospheres found in 1940-60s animated films. As seen below, I've already attempted to recreate these scenes by digital painting in photoshop but I've been interested to see if it were possible to achieve similar results using code.
One of my main goals was to be able to present this project as a part of a live show. Although I wasn't able to perform at the recent pop up, I was able to test out the set at another venue soon after.
I decided to use touchOSC to control my program. I had originally intended on adding audio reactive elements to the project as well but I was unable due to time constraints.
Inspiration
Inspiration came from animated films I've watched since I was a kid as well as from some films which I've only recently discovered. Below are a few specific examples demonstrating the aesthetic I was hoping to achieve.
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaPU3rkgiCs
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Img7Xn57c0
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI52mvE1jaY
Strategy / Process
I began by approaching this project from the ground up to see if I could figure out a way to achieve the desired effect on my own. I started by creating rectangle classes which would allow me to generate groups of rectangles at various heights and widths to represent buildings. I knew early on that ofxBlur was going to be an important addon for creating a low fidelity atmosphere so I began experimenting with the parameters. The further along I got with the project, the more I realized that my approach wasn't going to work as I hoped, and that I should instead begin learning to use particle systems.
Conclusion / Future Development
The project went in a different direction than I had anticipated but I am happy with the direction it's currently going in. I plan on continuing developing this as a tool which can be used by myself as well as other people for live performances. My next steps would be to add more variation to the scene such as contrasting particle systems, as well as to add audio reactivity. I also want to continue exploring the ofxBlur addon to see if it is a practical approach to creating dream-like atmospheres involving 10th's of thousands of particles. I am planning on creating an option to have the software go on "autopilot" and become a more generative art tool for when a performer can not be hands-on with the software.
Resources
Final Version of Code + touchOSC file: https://github.com/fincannonwb/fogtown
Addons Used: ofxGui, ofxBlur, ofxOSC
of_v0.10.1_osx_release/examples/math/particlesExample
Lewis Lepton's youtube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_FIWS5C2wc
ofBook: https://openframeworks.cc/ofBook/chapters/stl_vector.html