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SIMS (Souvenirs in Moments)

Emma Im (2023)
gif animation of Emma waving wearing a hooded sweatshirt, it is a black and white stylized drawing filled with horizontal lines in the "black" parts
Emma waving “hello!”

In my Drawing With Machine (DWM) class with Professor Golan Levin, I’ve delved into the fascinating process of transforming the language of digital realms into tangible, artistic expressions. We have learned unique methods to convert our digital innovations into traditional artistic techniques using axidraw drawing bots, HPGL, SVG, and a lot more softwares / hardwares. To truly absorb the takeaways from this class, I’ve decided to take a step further and explore how I can add a dimension (literally) to the field of drawing with machines. I believe that a 2D drawing can be visually aesthetic and beautiful, merely on the wall – but something you hold within your hands is personal and memorable.

diagram of marching squares algorithm used to turn values in a matrix into closed polygons.
Diagram explaining the use of the Marching Squares Algorithm to create closed polygons out of matrix values

Therefore I came up with the SIMS project (Souvenirs in Moments) for the final project in this class. I want the users to interact with this project and get something out of it, just like a souvenir they can keep after an unforgettable trip. And the printed souvenirs will be the personal replica of oneself in motion, just like the sims, a video game by EA. This was a very memorable project and a growing experience for me as a developer, and hopefully for everyone who has a souvenir in their hands.

Read the Project Documentation here on Emma’s Github!

Credits:

Professor Golan Levin, and his TA Névé Monroe-Anderson for a massive help on debugging.

This project was made possible with support from FRFF Grant #2024-072.