Contract
16
Gallery
Solo View
About Subtle
sub·tle |
so delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyze or describe.
Perspective is everything. It is the lens through which our reality is formed. It’s the filter through which we interpret and make sense of our experiences. Perspective is what shapes our beliefs, influences our decisions, and determines our attitudes about the world around us.
'Subtle' explores the profound yet delicate role of perspective while offering a world in which scale is undefined, form is sleek, and luminescent rays rule all. Nuanced changes in vantage point and form reveal a fascinating interplay between light, complexity, and composition. Additionally, viewers can investigate these relationships interactively or turn on Gallery Mode for an ever-changing experience.
This series is heavily inspired by Gall’s Law, which states that “all complex systems evolve from simpler ones,” and aspires to strike a balance between intricacy and simplicity, while retaining its core values of light, color, and tone.
‘Subtle’ is built on nearly 15 years of experimentation with luminescent beams, starting with the acclaimed web game Auditorium, as reimagined in the art show “We’ve Traveled so Far,” and fully realized here.
Each unique creation is generated through a wholly bespoke WebGL implementation. At runtime, all attributes and features are combined to realize a completely distinctive GLSL Fragment Shader. Finally, the piece is rendered to your screen using a technique called Raymarching. All of this in just 12.2kb of Javascript.
Controls:
- [ spacebar ] Change Perspective
- [ mouse/finger drag ] Interact
- [ g ] Toggle Light Beams
- [ h ] Toggle Hi-Res Interactivity Mode
- [ enter ] Gallery Mode - changes perspective every 10s
- [ 1-6 ] Change Antialiasing ( low-high )
Notes:
- Requires a WebGL capable browser
- Render resolution up scales with viewport dimensions.
- A black and white low-res preview is used for interaction. Turn on high-res interactivity if you have a lovely GPU
Learn more at https://willstall.com/projects/subtle
willstall
WillStall is a Philadelphia based generative artist who specializes in shaders. With math as his paintbrush, he creates unique worlds heavily inspired by impossible geometry, non-euclidean worlds, and light transport theory. Willstall’s technical art journey originates in his youthful years, where he was spellbound by the allure of Computer Arts Magazine (1995), the immersive worlds of Video Games (cue Quake in 1996), and the pioneering days of Macromedia Flash (also circa 1996). The crucible of his artistic upbringing was set amidst the award-winning games studio, Cipher Prime. In these pivotal years, he not only designed beautiful art-house games but also created captivating installations that graced museums, art exhibitions, festivals, and live concerts. This is where his artistic odyssey truly ignited. After nearly a dozen years of crafting games he began a transformation at the Philadelphia Museum of Art crafting immersive exhibits. It was during this phase that he was inspired by ‘everyday artists’ like Beeple and began a daily practice of creating mathematical sketches in the form of Fragment Shaders. This is the foundation of his work today.
Algorithmic edition of 256
10% of net proceeds will be donated to various organizations via the 'Lovely Fund' on Endaoment (https://app.endaoment.org/lovely)
Next in releases
Upcoming on Jan 27, 2022
Facets
conundrumer
"Facets" is a study in intersections of polyhedra and interactions of light.
Polyhedra are distorted and duplicated around a symmetry axis, intersecting and merging into a great diversity of forms. These forms are rendered in a light simulation with different colors and material properties. The sharp edges of the shapes carve out light and space, ...
