- How can we use Augmented Reality to expand our perception?
- How can we transform tools designed for corporate use into radical art making methodologies?
- How can we use 3D software to have control over and the ability to customize our online identities?
- What does it mean to exist in the same space as 3D objects and Avatars?
Augmented Reality enables users to exist in the same space as the 3D objects or Avatars they create. This shared space is not fully digital, not fully physical, but is in between, and both simultaneously. This workshop is a proposal that Augmented Reality acts as a portal that opens a window onto a virtual world that always exists, but one which we need technology to access.
Facebook’s Augmented Reality software, Spark AR, is not open source, but it is free. We can use the available tools of the megacorporation that dominates our Internet to our advantage. How can we subvert the expectations of a white cis heteronormative patriarchical corporation and use the tools it provides for a radical reimagining of our virtual and physical world?
Through this workshop users will learn how to create and/or source 3D models for use in Augmented Reality. Blender, an open-source 3D modeling and animating software, will be used to model 3D objects or Avatars and create short animations using a tool called blendshapes which enables users to morph their objects or Avatars into different shapes and movements. Spark AR, Facebook’s free Augmented Reality software, will be used to create an Augmented Reality app using visual coding methods. The output will result in Augmented Reality animated 3D objects or Avatars that can be attached to face recognition or hand recognition software. Users will be able to submit their apps to be reviewed by Facebook with the possibility of being published as a Facebook or Instagram filter.
This course is designed for anyone who is comfortable using a computer. Some experience that could be helpful but not necessary:
- 3D animation
- An understanding of how we use code to communicate with computers
Install before class:
- Blender
- Spark AR Studio WINDOWS USERS: Unfortunately, Spark AR is not readily available on Windows. However, you can sign up for the beta version For this workshop, it is recommended that you use Mac
After this workshop, students will possess the following skills:
- An understanding of Augmented Reality in the context of Mixed and Virtual Reality
- How to source free 3D objects and avatars from the Internet
- How to model 3D objects in the 3D software Blender
- How to use 3D objects or Avatars they have scanned previously in Augmented Reality
- How to create and export an Augmented Reality app that has the potential to be published and available to users across the Internet
- An understanding of the conceptual implications of creating an experimental Augmented Reality artwork
Schedule:
- 15 min. Introduction to AR
- 10 min. Blender basics
- 20 min. Animation in Blender
- 30 min. Visual coding in Spark AR
- 20 min. Test errors
- 20 min. Apply for publishing app/class critique and discussion
- 5 min. Next steps
Tools and Software:
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Each student should have a smartphone or tablet. Apple is recommended, although extra smartphones and tablets will be available for student use
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A laptop This course will be easier on a Mac if possible, but there will be a workaround for PC
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Blender software downloaded ahead of time on your laptop
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Spark AR software downloaded ahead of time on your laptop
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Explore these sites which offer options for free 3D models: -Turbosquid -Turbosquid -Character Generator Free to download a low polygon customizable avatar! You just need to make an account
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Download one model to use for class -- the file format you are looking for is .obj (object) or .dae (collada)
-Unfortunately, to publish the AR you create at the end of class, you will need a Facebook account :^( If you don’t have one and you don’t want your info on Facebook, consider creating a pseudonym when you make the account (but you do have to have a working email address to access)
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Augmented Reality: Augmented Reality (AR) is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real-world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory.
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Avatar: In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. An icon or figure representing a particular person in a video game, Internet forum, etc. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. Avatar images have also been referred to as "picons" (personal icons) in the past, though the usage of this term is uncommon now. It can also refer to a text construct found on early systems such as MUDs. The term "avatar" can also refer to the personality connected with the screen name, or handle, of an Internet user.
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Polygon Mesh A polygon mesh is a collection of vertices, edges and faces that defines the shape of a polyhedral object in 3D computer graphics and solid modeling.
- Introduction to Augmented Reality and possible outcomes of using this technology in an experimental way
- Source, import or 3D model an object or Avatar for use in Blender
- Create one blendshape using 3D model in Blender and export for use in Spark AR
- Using the 3D objects and blendshapes create an interactive AR app using either facial recognition or hand movement recognition
- Test and fix any errors in the app
- Apply for publishing app on Facebook or Instagram, share apps with class for class critique and discussion
- Instructor discusses how this process can be applied in the future for use with Spark AR and in other Augmented Reality software (such as ARKit and XCode, Snapchat software, etc.)
- If you tried face tracking, try hand tracking
- If you used a downloaded 3D model, try modeling your own mesh
- Now that you understand a visual coding method of working with AR, consider using ARKit and XCode or trying Snapchat’s proprietary AR software
- If you did not have time to do so in class, publish your AR to Facebook or Instagram so others can use it!
- Reflection:
- Now that you have learned how to create an Augmented Reality experience, has your perception of the virtual and physical world changed?
- Do you think 3D objects in Augmented Reality space are truly there or is it an illusion?
- Do you think 3D objects in Augmented Reality space are truly there or is it an illusion?
- If you are interested in the topic of investigating the properties and identities of objects I suggest this text by Hito Steyerl
With thanks and acknowledgement, we were inspired by the curriculum templates shared by NYCDOE and NYC Open Data