icam senior project • sophia xie • kamil gallery
MARKED by
MOTION
OVERVIEW
Marked by Motion is a digital and real-time piece about progressive human impact on the environment through an interactive particle system with painting backgrounds. The digital particle system controlled by hand and body movement. The paintings change from a balanced, transitional, and degraded state. As time progresses, particle turbulence changes using data from the yearly NOAA global land and ocean average temperature departure.
PAINTINGS
acrylic paint on canvas -12" x 16"
For the landscape scenery, I chose to include mostly aquatic environments. Age is used as a metaphor for environmental change to introduce time, generational responsibility, cumulative impact, and irreversibility. I digitally collaged multiple images of habitats, water, pollution, and portraits in Procreate to create compositions.
BALANCED STATE
The natural equilibrium between human presence and the environment. Human activity exists, but ecosystems remain stable and resilient.
I used bright colors and high saturation of the environmental scenery. The portraits of children and happier emotions portray innocence and potential for stability or the future. The bubbles emphasize that this state potentially is only temporary.
TRANSITIONAL STATE
The result of prolonged environmental stress caused by sustained human impact. Ecological systems break down, and natural balance is lost.
I painted with muted tones to contrast with the first painting and start the more melancholic emotions. The plastic over the faces evokes a trapped sensation, and the remaining plastic pollution highlights human consequences. The portraits are now of adults with resting expressions to convey a sense of agency and visible impacts in the ocean.
DEGRADED STATE
The period where human activity begins to destabilize the ecosystem. The environment can still functioning, but there are major signs of stress and imbalance.
I painted with warm and orange tones to show a change from the blues in the first two paintings. The fire emphasizes the overwhelming nature of the degradation. The portraits are now of the elderly to convey irreversible consequences, memory, and loss. The fire combined with the disrupted ocean plastic environment represents the gradual consuming disruption.
COLOR BACKGROUNDS
Moves from blue/green to orange/red, lasting 1 minute
BALANCED
TRANSITIONAL
DEGRADED
RESET
DATASET
How much the combined average surface temperature of Earth’s land and oceans departs (warmer or cooler) from a long-term baseline average.
TOUCHDESIGNER PARTICLE SYSTEM
All components combined
I used MediaPipe to isolate the body movement. The particle system takes the shape of the body. Body and hand movement controls the optical flow of the system.
The NOAA data controls the particle turbulence and speed. I added an incrementing date timer in the bottom corner from 1850-2026.
I combined the paintings, color backgrounds, and particles together. The cycle of the three stages lasts 1 minute and then loops.
EXHIBITION SETUP
The paintings are hung at the top. The computer with the TouchDesigner file is connected to the TV. A webcam is placed at the top of the TV to capture movement.
TIMELINE
WINTER QUARTER
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7-8
Week 9-10
Draft painting and 3d model ideas and plan TouchDesigner components.
Work on the particle system with the camera movement.
Create references for each stage and work on the paintings
Midterm - Proof of Concept. Demo TouchDesigner: Some drawings connected TouchDesigner components. Demo art and 3d models.
Continue working on the paintings.
Final: Paintings connected and working with particle system in TouchDesigner.
SPRING QUARTER
Week 11-12
Week 13-14
Week 15
Week 16-17
Week 17-18
Week 19-20
Week 21
Finish the painting for the degraded state.
Connect the painting assets to the particle system.
Continue implementing the camera movement according to color, visual clarity, and composition stability of the piece.
Start learning how to connect the particle system to climate data in TouchDesigner.
Finalize the particle system with climate data.
Add a text indicator about the climate data, either a label or years.
Gallery install and exhibition.
PROCESS
EARLY IDEAS - concept and painting ideas
INITIAL HAND MOVEMENT and PARTICLE SYSTEMS
Hand camera movement is synced with particle systems
Reference image connected to particles
First hand controls the image
Second hand controls the color
PAINTINGS
BALANCED STATE
TRANSITIONAL STATE
DEGRADED STATE
INITIAL PARTICLE SYSTEM with PAINTINGS
In TouchDesigner, I used MediaPipe to sync the hand camera movement with the particle system. MediaPipe tracks hand and finger movement. For this project, I tracked the middle finger tip location to control how the particles move. To make the particles, I used a grid connected to a particle SOP. The particles are improved from the previous version because they move more smoothly, and the hand movement now allows the particles to travel through the entire screen. I colored the particles with the paintings using the multiply TOP. The paintings change every 10 seconds.
