The Animal Kingdom

Overview

The goal in our Creative Code class was to create an interactive project, that would then be displayed in a gallery for people to actually interact with.

I have always loved and admired animals, and I was looking for a way to share that with others. I thought it would be very educational and eye opening if people were able to stand next to some magnificant animals they might never get the chance to see in person. Through this experience, I hoped viewers would gain a better understanding and respect for the creatures that share this Earth with us. And in better hopes, raising awareness that many animals are endangered or close to extinction and that we need to help to ensure they are here for future generations to enjoy.

Sketch

My original sketch of how I imagined the finished project working.

Research

For this project I had to learn how to code using processing and arduino. The software I used included an arduino rfid reader and a projector. The second part of my research was on the actual animals – how tall they were, fun facts to add. I also spent a lot of time finding the correct projector and testing the distance it needed to be at to project the correct size animals. My files also needed to be in the correct proportion to each other to work.

Visuals

These are the visuals of the animals I created to be projected.

Final Experience

Photos

Conclusion

I learned so much from the beginning of this class to the gallery opening. I was very happy with the way my project turned out. It ended up looking a lot like my sketch even though I couldn't fit a giraffe in the gallery. I spent almost six hours in the gallery creating my setup and troubleshooting the projector to make sure it was the correct proportions. Everyone seemed to be having a great time interacting with it and many people were asking questions. A lot of people couldn't believe that these were the actual sizes of these animals. So I guess my goal was met in the end. I couldn't stop smiling the entire gallery opening because of how I saw people interacting with my project.