Creation of Final Display

Since this is an animation staring the Amazing Zamama (my little Tadpole character) I decided to try and create every frame of his little dance (and sleep) with the simple (and apparently complicated) Paint application.

 This is the layup of the start of the dance when his stamina is full (see his cute energetic smile there?) this was all done on paint and then edited on Photoshop to fix the pixelated look Paint produces and fix the sizing.

This is the layup of the middle of the dance when his stamina is getting low. as you can see by his face and wobbling arm (which will wiggle in the animation) Zamama is getting tired and weak, his movements will become slow in the animation as it drags on in this stage.

 This is the layup of the last part of the dance where Zamama has fallen asleep from exhaustion. The snot bubble is a typical anime gimmick for a sleeping character and since he's based on an anime design I decided to use it for more movement (an added loop display maybe?) the end picture is of him waking up since the bubble popped (again an anime gimmick for some humor) this is only at the end though but it suggests that the dance could dance again

I do have to admit that I cheated a bit with making these frames on Paint, I used a template to create the first model and just traced him/edited him for each movement (that's why he's standing while he's asleep)

Concepts for Fianl Project

So I decided to go with the loop function and so I was made to think (OMG) about what I could do and how I could do it to express this processing function in a different way that speaks to people who don't understand (like me) and/or do coding

My first idea was to have something simple like a slinky falling down the stairs (we all use to do it)

My Delmar with this idea however is it's almost too simple and rather predictable for describing the loop function term (it's even shaped like a loop so that's two in one) I don't even know if I should make an interaction model or a movie


My second idea was trying to get a little more complex (somewhat) but still simple. A wolf of a lion running to catch it's food. The action of running continuously until catching it's prey is a very straight forward example of loop in processing
The way I would present this is with a little animation of a predator chasing it's prey (make it cute) and almost make it childish looking in both display of characters and storyline (if you can say it has one)

Loop Function
The loop term in Processing reads - Causes Processing to continuously execute the code within draw(). If noLoop() is called, the code in draw() stops executing.
 Basically it means that with the loop function the code will continue to copy itself over and over again visually until it is no longer able to due to no more room or other cause. It’s commonly used for interactional programs and pattern coding.
My display of “the Dancing Tadpole Zamama” expresses this term “loop” in a slightly more entertaining way. Zamama is based off typical anime styles and was created using the simple program Paint and edited with Photoshop to take out the over pixilation look paint gives. I then used Nero Vision to add all the slides together give speed and fluidity to his movements.
By having this animated character dance it shows the loop work as he repeats the move of a simple Disco dance (so simple). As the dance drags on and Zamama’s energy goes down, the dance slows down and Zamama begins to look tired until eventually he falls asleep. 
This display of dancing till ones energy runs out and then falling asleep from exhaustion is a simple way of expressing the loop function as it is used in processing.

Improvement on loop project

after re-reading the function of loop in processing and some help from Ben (thanks mate) I made a few changes to my dancing idea
I now understand that the object (tadpole) is the main influence to the loop and that something to do with him must affect the action rather than an outside element (music) so I decided to have my little guy dance till he gets tired and falls asleep
As he gets tired he will slow down and sloop until he falls over and begins to snooze

My character - Zamama the tadpole

Project 3 start and third concept (final)

for this project since we don't have to use processing to express our term I decided to try and do a flash animation expressing my chosen processing term "loop"

there are two different computer loop terms that I think contribute to what I have in mind

 - Control flow loop - a sequence of commands that is executed repeatedly 

 - Infinite loop - a sequence of instructions in a computer program which loops endlessly

My idea is to create a flash animation or a mini flash game which involves a dancing character

some examples of what I could do

this is the most simple example with having two moves repeated over and over again throughout the whole song (and it's sooo cute)

with this example it shows how the moves change and repeat with the beats of the music (also having different characters doing different things reflecting different parts of the song)

concept 1

my first ideas for this project were to go basic but unique (at least I hope it is)

My idea is to use circles (oh how original is that) and have them create chain reactions of sound when you click on one.

each circle is different in size, color and the sound it produces. when a circle is clicked on, a "ripple" will start as it admits it sound across the screen. when the ripple hits another circle then it too will activate therefor creating a chain reaction of sound.

to avoid never ending loops and massive headaches (which sounds like a guarantee with this idea actually) the ripples will fade the further out they go as not to activate some circles and hopefully allowing the chain reaction to cease (so everyone can breath before they explode)

Reflection and frustration

the last day of task 2 has drawn to a close and I couldn't attach any sound to my interactive design sketch.
I still have the file I tried to re-write (god knows how many times) just in case
I decided to submit and upload what I had accomplished so far and maby try to solve my little bug problem with my code as a pet project.

the link to my final sketch on open processing is here - http://www.openprocessing.org/visuals/?visualID=27997

I must admit that this assignment was much harder than the previous as I was not use to having to account and code for movement, interaction etc within a sketch (I must have spent hours looking up help sites for advice on what to do and I probably still did it the hard way knowing me)

I rather like my final outcome (despite the small issue of not being able to add my little sound) I'm rather glad I decided to have the placement of the little dots the interaction of the program and not the main circle (it was just too much chaos personally and I already had to restart because of lags caused by overload)

last minute remake of final design

After much frustration with my final sketch I decided to redo the whole thing and make it more simple (shape and sound wise to prevent lagging, the cursed lagging)

I stuck with having a circle as the centre point of the interaction but instead of bouncing off other objects to make sound, when it bounces of the edges of the screen would make one single sound (sort of a futuristic bounce sound)

the interaction of this sketch is that whenever the main circle bounces off an edge, it will create a bunch of random coloured little balls which will appear whever your mouse is on the application.

Personally, I prefer this sketch much more than my original as it's more fun and simple (all those different  sounds and shapes would get annoying fast) and efectively simple (to prevent the horrible lagging and viral effects on my mind)

All I need to do with this sketch is to attach the sound file and upload it to Open processing as well as the R drive for marking (and I'll be done "Banzai!!!")

final design look

I finished the movement layout of my final design and got everything to move around randomly

this sketch consists about 30 random squares and circles of different size, colour and transparency with the big orange circle as the main attraction of the whole thing. the black background brings attention to the interloping shapes and the small details as well.

I just need to fix a few bugs, get the big circle to be in sync with the mouse and add the sounds to it all (each separate shape has it's own separate sound so there's alot there to do over the break)

I've actually begun to wonder if it's a bit too much since it keeps freezing while loading. Maby I should simplify it more so there isn't so much to load or just start again.