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FX reel shows how 'Ghost in the Shell' developed its visual style
By most accounts, the movie adaptation of Ghost in the Shell didn't live up to the visionary manga and anime it's based on, but it did create some stunning visuals. The film's holo-saturated neon cityscape was designed in major part by digital creative Ash Thorp, who recently put together a highlight reel of concepts and animations created for the film.
How I learned to love Electric Objects' digital art display
"The last thing I need is another screen in my apartment." That was my first thought when I heard about Electric Objects, a company that makes digital art displays. Between my 55-inch OLED TV, 34-inch ultra-widescreen PC monitor, MacBook Air, multiple tablets and iPhone 6S, what use would I have for more screens? But after spending some time with the $299 EO2, the company's latest product, and its accompanying $10-a-month "Art Club" subscription, it wasn't long before I saw the appeal of a cloud-connected display on my wall.
The Big Picture: Not-quite San Francisco's 'Davis Street'
Take a second look at the above image -- it isn't actually a photo. Nope, the entire scene (dubbed Davis Street) was painstakingly created with the graphics rendering suite 3DS Max. To achieve the impressive end result, artist Gilvan Isbiro says that he had to separate the street into two rendering "plans" considering how big the street's surface is. As he tells it, the splitting didn't stop there. Isbiro notes that due to the sheer amount of textures and materials present in the scene, not to mention lighting and post-processing effects like depth of field, that he had to divide the rendering tasks in two: foreground and background. It is, however, a bit embellished compared to the actual intersection of Davis and California in San Francisco. For starters, The City By the Bay does not have trains like the one up above and there's no such Sweet Street. Spot any other liberties that Isbiro took? Let us know in the comments.
Framed gesture-controlled digital canvas debuts on Kickstarter, starting at $399
It's shaping up to be a big month for digital art displays. Electric Objects popped up on Kickstarter with its successfully funded 23-inch LCD for $299, and now a familiar face has turned to the funding site with its own rebooted version. Framed 2.0, an update to 2011's overpowered 40-inch model, includes integrated WiFi, a 720p front-facing camera and motion sensors, so you can interact with the frame using gestures. There's also a companion smartphone app, for purchasing and swapping art, creating schedules and adjusting settings. The first 250 backers can take home a 24-inch 1080p screen for $399. A 40-inch version will be available for $1,500, while a "super limited" 55-inch model will go for a whopping $10,000, including dinner with the design team in Tokyo. All three frames are available for pre-order on Kickstarter now, with select models shipping in November.
Electric Objects wants to put the digital art world on your wall
Digital photo frames are one of those product categories that seemed like a good idea at the time. As it turned out, no one really wanted a low-resolution LCD screen in their living room that needed to be plugged into a chunky power brick just to display pictures of their kids. New York-based startup Electric Objects believes it's fixed that problem with the EO1, "a framed high-definition screen and integrated computer that hangs on your wall and brings art from the Internet into your home." Or, as founder Jake Levine calls it, a screen that doesn't "make you feel like shit."
Gallery of high internet art curates for class, forgets to trololol
Care to take a walk down memory lane by way of the information superhighway? Good, because 21st century digital natives and Luddites alike could stand to benefit from some virtual navel-gazing. In what's essentially a 'look at how far we've come' exhibit, My Life Scoop, Intel's "connected lifestyle" site, has a collection of the more notable experiments that've sprung from our surprising interactions with the internet. Starting from the dial-up days of the mid-90's and working up to the near present, curious users can peep the wacky ways we've used the web as a tool, ranging from a remote community gardening project (The Telegarden) to a stock index that auto-adjusts dress hemlines (Stock Market Skirt) to an interactive, Arcade Fire-soundtracked film made to showcase Google Chrome (The Wilderness Downtown). But don't let us just tell you about these visual delights. Strap on those culture hats and meander through the finer artistic points of our shared online evolution at the source below.
Aqua: Digital paintings made up of OS X elements
Here's more proof that beauty can often lie hidden, even though it's right before your eyes. Digital artist Johannes P Osterhoff found an artistic quality to Apple's Aqua user interface and decided to base a series of digital "paintings" using several of its elements. With a few simple and subtle alterations, Osterhoff was able to make what looks like actual water droplets or ice, only using elements of Aqua (hence the series' name), at least at first glance. So far Osterhoff is making use of very few elements of the Aqua UI, so I'd like to see what can be done with something else. There's only so much that can be done with bubbles and bars. [via today and tomorrow]
