by Cléa Desjardins
Concordia University's Leila Sujir and Sudhir
Mudur are bringing visual arts into new territories. With a generous
grant from Consortium en innovation numérique du Québec and Mitacs, the
two professors, along with Maria Lantin from Emily Carr University of
Art + Design in Vancouver, are completing a year-long project to develop
3D drawing tools for a software system known as Sandde.
Sandde,
short for "stereoscopic animation drawing device," is a unique 3D
animation software from the Montreal-based Janro Imaging Laboratory
(JIL) that allows the animator artist to work intuitively by literally
drawing in thin air. That action of free-hand 3D drawing was the
research focus for Sujir, Mudur and Lantin, who are working with
graduate students to create low-cost, high-performance motion-tracking
solutions.
JIL, the maker of the software, is working closely with
professors and graduate students in Concordia's Department of Computer
Science and Software Engineering, as well as the Department of Studio
Arts, to develop the user interface and hardware interface components of
the software.
The researchers aim to bring Sandde to a point where it can
potentially revolutionize video game design, performance art, and even
Hollywood's 3D feature animations. By facilitating the free movement of
artists as they add 3D layers to their work, this research returns
physicality to the process of digital content-creation.
Project finds showcase in 3D exhibition
The fruits of this labour can be seen on display at Montreal's
Studio XX gallery, located at 4001 Berri St., through June 5. The
Distance Between is an inter-generational, all-female exhibition of 3D
work that showcases a variety of creative approaches made possible using
stereoscopic imaging tools like Sandde.
The show features
Chorus of Lungs,
an interactive 3D installation by Sujir, associate professor of Studio
Arts, and Lantin, presently a visiting scholar in the Department of
Computer Science and Software Engineering and Hexagram Institute of
Research Creation of Media Arts and Technologies.
The exhibition includes 3D work by Alison Loader (MA candidate,
communication studies), Rebecca St. John (animation student, Mel
Hoppenheim School of Cinema), and Emily Pelstring (MFA Studio Arts 09),
who is also is the curator of the exhibition and vice-president of
business development and marketing at JIL.
Photos courtesy of Emily Pelstring, Janro Imaging Laboratory.Related links:
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Department of Studio Arts-
Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering-
Janro Imaging Laboratory-
Studio XX
Sandde,
short for "stereoscopic animation drawing device," is a unique 3D
animation software from the Montreal-based Janro Imaging Laboratory
(JIL) that allows the animator artist to work intuitively by literally
drawing in thin air. That action of free-hand 3D drawing was the
research focus for Sujir, Mudur and Lantin, who are working with
graduate students to create low-cost, high-performance motion-tracking
solutions.
The show features Chorus of Lungs,
an interactive 3D installation by Sujir, associate professor of Studio
Arts, and Lantin, presently a visiting scholar in the Department of
Computer Science and Software Engineering and Hexagram Institute of
Research Creation of Media Arts and Technologies.
