I've always had a deep connection with the natural world. Growing up in the countryside, I was surrounded by floral wonders and daydreamed about becoming a gardener. An internship at a botanical garden when I was thirteen opened my eyes to the lush worlds all around us and I became fascinated with creating my own little worlds and realized the process of a visual artist is not that much different than the one of a gardener.
Working in augmented reality is a very natural and intuitive extension of my previous body of work in illustration and installation art. I find it so satisfying that I can share my worlds with anyone and they can have an immediate and rich immersive experience with it in their own space. Especially during these times of sequestration, sharing imagined worlds can bring us closer together no matter where we are.
I hope you enjoy this springtime virtual garden that I have cultivated for other AR lovers, and encourage you to capture your own experience in my garden — or create your own —and share them with #AdobeAero.
How to experience:
1. Download and Install the Adobe Aero App ( mobile devices)
2. Go outside!
3. Open the QR code OR Experience Link to launch the Spring Walk
Once you launch the experience, follow the small Sakura (cherry blossom) guide into a vibrant botanical garden. I encourage you to tap and walk around items as interactive behaviors are hidden in the garden like Easter eggs. Enjoy, and I can't wait to see where you place this Aero scene in your world!
Process:
Concept. I started by taking a walk outside! I get a lot of my ideas when I move from one place to another.
Ideation and Drafting. Then when I'm home I sketch on iPad (Fresco) and finally I work in Illustrator (Ai) for the curve files of all plants as basis for my experiences.
Adding the third dimension. Using Blender and Dimension (Dn) my drawings are transferred into 3D. I enjoy a combination of custom made assets and deforming and combining assets from the Adobe Starter Assets Library. The exported GLB files can be uploaded and optimized for Aero with the export for Aero function.
Character creation and animation. I wanted a guide that would welcome users to this garden. I drew the face and pants in Ai Illustrator, transferred only the pants to Blender for extrusion and all other body parts are made using the Dimension starter assets — it is amazing how many free 3D assets are available on Adobe Stock. Then I brought it into Mixamo by Adobe and brought it to life with rigging that allowed me to direct it to to turn around, dance, and jump.
Testing. Then I take another walk, but this time in my new augmented garden!
