Shadow-dependent Field

Last Updated 2009/03/01
Since 2009/03/01

　
CONCEPTS
 Light reaches the ground except that which is blocked en route. This dark area is called a shadow. The relationship between light and shadow is inhomogeneous. Light generates a shadow behind an object, but shadows cannot influence the light source. Shadows have been considered a byproduct of light. However, in our artwork, the relationship between the two is reversed in distinct ways of the screen-based system. The user controls a mouse cursor, and the shadow of the cursor moves to follow the cursor as in usual GUIs. As a characteristic of our work, the movements of the shadow can be modulated by the shadow manipulating tools, as if the shadows are substantial objects, and in addition, the modulated movements of the shadow cause positional shifts of the light source so that the shadow’s movements are complemented. 

 

　

FEATURES
 In this artwork, five unusual movements of the shadow are observed, which violate known laws of physics in daily life. In these manipulations, the position of the light source, which dominates the global illumination, is subject to the local movements of the shadow. Although in the real world and in rendering technologies of conventional computer graphics, the light source exists as an absolute standard of lighting environment and the shadow is a consequence of the lighting, in our artwork the cursor’s shadow is free from this constraint, and instead, influences the light source.
  • Falling shadow

    Even when the cursor itself is static, if a shadow falls over a hole, it falls through.

    　

  • Drifting shadow

    When a shadow passes over a river, it is forcibly drifted.

    　

  • Trapped Shadow

    When a character steps on a shadow, the shadow is trapped.

    　

  • Grabbed Shadow

    The hand manipulator can grab and move shadows.

    　

  • Alternated shadow

    The mirror manipulator can exchange the roll of the cursor and its shadow.

　

　

DEMO MOVIE

 download(wmv:16.6MB).

　

　

DOWNLOAD
 Shadow-dependent Field requires windows PC installed DirectX9c runtime. The download is here(931KB).

　　

　

Copyright (C) 2009 Jun Fujiki.& Junji Watanabe All rights reserved.