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Made a color picker in flash… possibilities are endless!!!!

Source: cpixer.fla

Check out the *.swf >>>

This one is kind of simple, but useful (I think). This script copies a primitive and animates the duplicates along a curve. The duplicates are evenly spaced based on the number of duplicates entered. It is similar to the Animated Snapshot tool, but doesn’t have to reGen (the units adjust with the curve in real time). It also allows the translate node of the object to calculate its relative position/rotation. Each object retains its history so you can key things to the translate node. You should rebuild the curve to make sure it has a U value from 0 to 1.

source: CurveArray.mel

Finished up Visualizing[DATA] 2 weeks ago at Pratt. The class is a technical course and this semester I changed things a bit and gave the students freedom to explore their own interests. The goal of the course was for everyone to start with Flash and either input data into flash from another software or output to another software. There was a wide range of project personalities. Most of them friendly.

The selfish side of me likes the fact that technical classes in architecture school have become increasingly more specialized. At the end of the day I would rather teach something that is closer to what I am currently interested in or experimenting with, but students seem easily overwhelmed by these courses. Most students have almost real time access to the latest and greatest examples of design and experimentation produced by the computer. They are vary aware of the results, but not necessarily aware of the production. A lot of students seem to come to the class with a preconceived notion of what they want to do (which is usually the most complex thing they have seen to date) and then they hit a literal roadblock once they realize it will take time to learn the tools/techniques. This is an ongoing topic for discussion in our studio. The best answer we have so far is to treat the course as technique survey. This way the students can become aware of many techniques and decide for themselves which ones they might explore through their immediate career. Then we ask them to focus on something specific and keep it simple. From there any complexity becomes additive. Basically we ask them to grow a project.

The video above was produced for the class by Charles Kwan. This was a good example of one of the more successful projects because it is very focused and extremely simple. I think the success comes from the fact that it opens up interesting future possibilities. Because it is so simple and clear it can be easily understood and added to. The short description is that Charles made 4 light sensors and used processing to receive the light level read by each sensor and then read the four “digital” levels from flash. As each level increases it increases the size of the corresponding agents in his flash movie.

class link: Visualizing[DATA]

I have been messing around with color a lot lately (especially in Flash). Its pretty fun. My inner architect isn’t happy about it, but I don’t care. Architects should take themselves less seriously. I think the first step is to use more color (and your tie doesn’t count) .

Source: color_01.fla

Check out the *.swf>>>

I just wanted to show this because it is the most important part of the fabrication system we used for the GAUD show @ Pratt and it is also the clearest/simplest. The clip detail doesn’t rely on any MEL scripting or expressions. It uses simple animation techniques to change the curves based on a custom attribute: “angle.” Each clip “angle” is adjusted by a script that queries a surface. The clips are then the detail that articulates the angles between panels. I also wanted to show it because it is designed to be extremely versatile and that versatility is a direct result of its simplicity. I see a lot of projects that rely on pseudo complex details. I say pseudo because they are mostly rely on form to define the “complexity” and that formal complexity usually limits the macro possibilities of a project.

The clip detail also contains all of the curves needed for fabrication. The curves are adjustable tooling for a laser cutter. So construction documents and shop drawings are bypassed since the end result can just be sent to the laser cutter.

Model: clip.mb

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