Forest of Light

Speculative Interactive Art Exhibit | Fusion360 Modeling & Adobe Dimension Rendering | 2022

About the Project

“Forest of Light” is a 3D model and set of renderings of a speculative interactive art exhibit. The exhibit is designed to be a large-scale installation in a ballroom-sized room (100ft X 55ft X 40ft). The installation includes a winding pathway through hundreds of light poles that run from floor to ceiling. The paths also meet in several circular coves around the room. As visitors walk through the installation, the light poles around them will light up using motion sensing technology, responding to their presence. There is space intentionally left between the light poles to allow for light across the room to be seen as multiple groups of people interact with the exhibit at one time. 

This art exhibit is intended to convey a meeting point between nature and technology. The sleek design of the exhibit and bright, neon purple tones of light emitted by the poles give off a futuristic and technology-heavy aesthetic. The scale of the exhibit combined with the winding pathways through hundreds of poles are intended to give off the feel of wandering through a vast forest. The space left between the light poles that allows for light to be seen across the room as multiple people interact with the exhibit is intended to create a feeling of oneness and togetherness for visitors, even as they wander through the vast pathways feeling seemingly alone or separated from others.

The 3D model for this project was built in Fusion 360 and then exported as a .OBJ file to be rendered in Adobe Dimension. All material appearances and lighting effects were rendered in Dimension. Adobe Photoshop was used to polish the final renders, touching up the colors and lighting effects and adding in silhouettes of people to display the intended interaction with the art exhibit.

Exhibit Renderings

FinalRender-LookingUp.png
FinalRender-AboveCoveView.png
FinalRender-LongWaysRoomView.png
FinalRender-PathwayView.png
FinalRender-CoveMediumAboveView.png

Documentation of Project Flow

Sketches

Exhibit Overview + General Idea Sketch

Exhibit Overview + General Idea Sketch

Exhibit Room Dimensions

Exhibit Room Dimensions

Sketch of the planned path & cove layout

Sketch of the planned path & cove layout

Interaction sketch - people will be illuminated by the glow of the light bars around them as they walk through the exhibit

Interaction sketch - people will be illuminated by the glow of the light bars around them as they walk through the exhibit

Interaction sketch of intended functionality of exhibit - the light poles will illuminate as people walk by them

Interaction sketch of intended functionality of exhibit - the light poles will illuminate as people walk by them

CAD Model Design Process

My modeling process began with the creation of the floor and an import of an SVG file with the design of the raised paths & coves that run through the room.

My modeling process began with the creation of the floor and an import of an SVG file with the design of the raised paths & coves that run through the room.

I then built walls with doorways where the paths end, as well as a ceiling for the room.

I then built walls with doorways where the paths end, as well as a ceiling for the room.

Using the pattern along a path tool in Fusion, I began adding light poles to various open sections of the room. The paths these poles run along were part of the design in the SVG file I used to extrude the paths & coves from the floor.

Using the pattern along a path tool in Fusion, I began adding light poles to various open sections of the room. The paths these poles run along were part of the design in the SVG file I used to extrude the paths & coves from the floor.

View of the completed light pole layout.

View of the completed light pole layout.

The yellow dots in this above view show the pole placement around the room.

The yellow dots in this above view show the pole placement around the room.

The green lines show the paths that the light poles run along. The black circles show the singular poles I built and attached to paths, and then patterned out along said paths to create the multitude of final light poles.

The green lines show the paths that the light poles run along. The black circles show the singular poles I built and attached to paths, and then patterned out along said paths to create the multitude of final light poles.

A view of the completed model, with the exterior walls in view (exterior walls were created for lighting purposes in the rendering stage).

A view of the completed model, with the exterior walls in view (exterior walls were created for lighting purposes in the rendering stage).

Render Preparation in Adobe Dimension

I applied a dark blue plastic material to the light poles in their base/unactivated state. I then selected specific poles to apply glow appearances to based on where I set up my camera view for the renders. I used photoshop to insert silhouettes of p

I applied a dark blue plastic material to the light poles in their base/unactivated state. I then selected specific poles to apply glow appearances to based on where I set up my camera view for the renders. I used photoshop to insert silhouettes of people into the final renders to display the intended interaction with & functionality of the exhibit.

After exporting my finished Fusion 360 model as an OBJ, I applied material appearances to the various surfaces in my model to give it my desired final look after rendering.

After exporting my finished Fusion 360 model as an OBJ, I applied material appearances to the various surfaces in my model to give it my desired final look after rendering.