  
Primordial Dance
© Karl Sims & Thinking Machine Corporation
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- Karl Sims
- Country : USA
- Biography :
Karl Sims received a B.S. in Life Sciences from M.I.T. in 1984.
After working at Thinking Machines Corporation for a year be
returned to M.I.T. to study graphics and animation at the Media
Laboratory and received an M.S. in Visual Studies in 1987.
He then joined the production research team at Whitney/Demos
Productions in California, and later became co founder and
director of research for Hollywood based Optomystic. He currently
works once again at Thinking Machines Corporation as a research
scientist and artist in residence. His works of animation
include Particle Dreams, Excerpts from Leonardo's Deluge,
Panspermia,Primordial Dance...
He presented at 94 Siggraph his Evolving creatures.
Project : Primordial Dance
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Description
"Primordial Dance" is an experimental animation containing a progression
of abstract textures and colors. It is a study of emerging and transforming
mathematical equations. It might be considered "visual music" in that it
attempts to provoke emotion with underlying structure and complexity without
relying on specific representational entities.
These effects were created by an unusual process in wich a computer and an
artist work together to "evolve" images and movements. The computer performs
random mutations on equations that generate pictures. The artist then selects
a subset of the resulting pictures to be used as parents for the next generation.
When this process continues for many generations, various and interesting and
complex images can occur. Animation is created by interpolating between equations
to give smooth transformations from one image to another. These techniques allow
complex equations that generate textures and motions to be created that would be
difficult for a human to design by hand or even understand, but the user still
maintains control by aesthetically directing the evolutionary process.
Technical Information
Music: David Grimes, Target Productions
Drums: Jim Salem, Abbi Spinner, Ken Schachat, Seth Goldstein
Hardware: Connection Machine System CM-2
More Information...
Bibliography :
- Sims, K., "Artificial Evolution for Computer Graphics" CG (Siggraph '91
proceedings), Vol.25, n°.4, July 1991, pp.319-328,
- 92 Imagina proceedings VII pp19-30
Abstract :
[2]
This paper describes how the evolutionary mechanisms of variation and selection
can be used to "evolve" complex equations used by procedural models for computer
graphics and animation. An interactive process between the user and the computer
allows the user to guide simulated evolutions of Lisp expressions in useful directions
by observing results and providing aesthetic information at each step of the process.
The computer generates random variations of expressions and combinations between expressions
to automatically create new generations of results. This repeated interaction between user
and computer allows the user to search the hyperspaces of possible equations
without being required to design the equations by hand or even understand them.
Three different applications of these techniques have been implemented and are
described: procedurally generated pictures and textures, two dimensional
systems described by sets of differential equations, and three dimensional
shapes represented by parametric equations. It is proposed that this method
has potential as a powerful tool for exploring procedural models and achieving
flexible complexity with a minimum of user input and knowledge of details.
Some internal links :
-
 Same Author
-
 Particle Dreams
Some more Comments :
Third INA 92 Research Pixel Prize
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