Interdisciplinary Encounters 2020
A Text by Annie Guay
As a graduate student specializing in 3D animation, I was tasked with producing a series of short animations exploring the theme of sympoiesis using Houdini, a 3D animation software. Because Houdini is procedural and highly programmable, it is particularly well suited to simulation work and motion graphics. This research-creation project also allowed me to deepen my knowledge of the software through a process of experimentation and trial and error, without the pressure of multiple courses and tight deadlines.
As I did not yet have all the theoretical background needed to discuss sympoiesis at the start of the project, I conducted extensive visual research on interactions between elements, drawing inspiration from motion design and simulation content shared on Instagram. The MUTEK 2018 visual campaign served as my primary source of inspiration for the visual design (https://www.behance.net/gallery/57846809/MUTEK-18). The posters featured a minimalist aesthetic, vibrant colors, and a variety of abstract geometric forms with diverse textures. In terms of behavior and interaction, I was also encouraged to explore cellular automata. To illustrate the concept, I was shown the example of Langton’s ant, which moves from one square to another on a tiled grid, leaving black tiles in its wake.
While exploring visual references under the hashtag #cellularautomata on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/_cellular_automata_/), where numerous animations programmed according to cellular automata principles can be found, I noticed that the generated forms tended to reproduce “more of the same” (Jarry, 2020, 12:15) rather than evolving in multiple directions during their development.
Based on my understanding of sympoiesis at the time, it was important to emphasize fluid interactions between objects in a way that reflected the spirit of the symposium itself: an event that encourages the sharing of creative projects and the exchange of knowledge among artists and participants. Using simple geometries, I therefore created procedurally generated structures that produced abstract visual results (see Appendix 2).
The two images were composed of structures generated through the random extrusion of polygonal faces. In the image on the left, an additional organic growth system was created using polygons that expanded randomly over time. The idea was to simulate a substance spreading across the structures or colliding with itself and other forms.
The challenge with these experiments was that the forms did not truly interact with one another, and technical constraints made them difficult to produce. Given the limited timeframe, Patil Tchilinguirian and I chose to focus on the composition and visual appearance of the final videos rather than on further developing their conceptual complexity. It was important to assign a distinct material to each structure in order to highlight variations in texture and emphasize the visual harmony between the different forms. We also experimented with camera angles, color palettes, and lighting, as these aesthetic elements were intended to play a prominent role during the in-person event. However, as this process coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was ultimately placed on hiatus.
For the initial internship proposal, I mainly communicated my ideas through sketches. To further develop the visual concept, I created a preliminary storyboard outlining the intended progression of the 3D production.
I retained the principle of procedurally generated structures from the first version, as it was an approach I particularly enjoyed and wanted to develop further. I also decided to take a more playful direction by introducing a character. Gisèle helped answer my questions about how sympoiesis might be represented visually when she referred to octopuses, drawing on Donna Haraway’s writings. Octopuses provide a compelling example because of the countless transformations their bodies can undergo. They are able to blend seamlessly into their surroundings through the adaptive properties of their skin and the remarkable flexibility of their bodies. The harmony that octopuses demonstrate with their environment inspired me to imagine a similar narrative centered on an anthropomorphized being that I call the “Blob.”
In my mind, the Blob possesses some of the same qualities as the ocean wave character in Moana (Clements & Musker, 2016). It has its own personality while remaining relatively neutral in nature. As it moves across a landscape of objects, it absorbs certain attributes and leaves traces of those acquired properties behind. I wanted to emphasize the contrast between recognizable textures, such as fur, sand, color, and metal, so that their blending and transformation would be more apparent to the viewer.
For the second version of the project, I shifted my focus back to the individual behavior of animated elements. Rather than having the Blob move through a pre-existing environment, I wanted to build an environment composed of multiple elements, each possessing its own characteristics and agency. From there, the emphasis would be on observing how these different entities interact, collaborate, and evolve together (see Appendix 1, sketches #1 and #2).
I evolve alongside the project from the very beginning. At first, I was just beginning my learning in Houdini. So, I decided to learn new concepts for the internship, including volume dynamics (fire, smoke), liquid dynamics, and soft bodies. I also want to deepen my understanding of collision behaviors and the use of particles, notably to lighten my simulations. In my visual research, I find several references using these types of simulations, and I find that they represent well the malleability and fluidity that I like about the octopus.
I have two types of references that correspond most closely to the vision of harmony between elements that I want to show. On the one hand, I have examples of simulations that interact with a fixed structure in the environment. It transforms according to the structure and evolves as a function of it (see Appendix 4, images #2 and #5).
On the other hand, these are two simulations that often collide and intermingle.
Dans les deux cas, la question est de savoir que vont devenir les formes animées suite à cette friction. J’ai tout de même choisi la première option. Comme la relation symbiotique du poisson-clown et de l’anémone, les deux vivent ensemble en harmonie et bénéficient l’un de l’autre, je veux que mes animations ne soient pas dépendantes l’une de l’autre pour croître et qu’elles continuent de grandir par elles-mêmes. (Prestige Reef, 2019, 0:35).
Comme décision définitive dans le cadre du stage, j’ai décidé d’associer des animations avec un type de simulation différente chacune à une forme basique pour ensuite les mixer. Pour le beigne (voir annexe 4, image #8), je veux faire tourner une sorte de liquide en cercle infini.
As I altered the path of the particles, they gradually ended up separating from one another while continuing along their course. Their trajectory is then affected by the growing cube (growth).
To add to the scene after a few seconds with the first two animations, I also created soft tubes that sway somewhat like the tentacles of sea anemones do.
With the speed of the first animation, the geometries interpenetrate one another. However, some of the tubes are able to recognize the torus.
As for the aesthetic envisioned for the final result, I also wanted to retain the textures explored with Patil. Using bioplastic samples, I wanted to make a reference to the bioplastic tableware that was intended to be used at the physical event. I reproduced these textures procedurally in Houdini, based on the samples that Patil lent me.
Being introduced to research-creation truly opened my perspective on the creative process behind a project and the ways in which it can be approached. It is a process of exchange between various methods of data collection, reflection, and the construction of the artwork itself, a reminiscence of sympoiesis, which, in my opinion, makes progress more fluid and permissive. Research-creation is particularly popular in academic contexts, as guidance and support prove valuable when one is unfamiliar with the process. I was honestly fortunate to be guided and supported throughout my work despite social distancing measures.
That being said, despite the pressure of grades, the expectation of producing a result is a double-edged sword. Creative projects are often processes that require time and patience in order to find inspiration or even simply to create the opportunities to work on them. As such, this expectation can either serve as a source of motivation or become counterproductive to the research-creation process. I believe that creative practice is unique to each individual and that it is difficult to define a single best way to create, much like the challenge of defining sympoiesis itself. In any case, it allowed me to discover an unfamiliar world and, to some extent, make it my own within my artistic practice.
Author
Annie Guay is a visual artist specializing in photography and digital retouching. She pursued studies in Studio Arts, with a concentration in Photography, at Concordia University for one year before shifting her focus to design and 3D animation at NAD. She is currently a student in this field and aims to specialize in visual effects simulation and compositing.
Cette publication est également disponible en :
Français (French)
