In A Different Light

GIVEAWAY!!! 

Win this super-duper interactive moth t-shirt!!! 

It’s the interactive moth your wardrobe has been waiting for! Even better - it’s the only moth that is *guaranteed* 100% wardrobe safe and will almost certainly not cannibalize your other t-shirts, probably!

Q. What even is an interactive moth t-shirt and why should I care?

Good question. The moth on the shirt is an Artcode which works like a QR code, that you scan with the Artcodes app (App Store) (Google Play).

If you open the app, look for the experience “In a Different Light” and scan the moth on your t-shirt, it will take you to this post. If you picked up a card from me at RDC3, you can try it with that card. 

The t-shirt is a proof of concept, to show that it can be useful to put Artcodes on clothing. Setting it to open this post isn’t necessarily exciting on its own, but the point is there are a lot more things we could do with them.

For instance: how many people did you probably walk past at RDC3 without realizing that you are already friends online? Probably more than you know! How many lifelong friendships did you strike up in the autograph queues and then draw a complete blank on their Twitter handle after you got home? Dozens!

But what if everyone were wearing their own Artcode on a T-shirt or a badge or a pendant or earrings or a bag or some other way I haven’t thought of? You could just scan someone’s Artcode to bring up their social media. You could recognize old friends, make new friends, and look even cooler in the process.

Q. Artcode badges for RDC4?!? Could that work? How?

That’s just one idea off the top of my head, I’m sure you can think of more. But any of you would like to do this for RDC4, let me know! We could set up a dedicated Experience in the Artcodes app, that would be available just for the duration of the con.

Artcodes are like barcodes, they represent number combinations. The moth represents the combination 1:1:2:4:4. I would need to add a system to make sure that when you draw your own Artcode, you will always choose a number that isn’t already taken, so your Artcode doesn’t get mixed up with someone else’s. But if enough of you are interested, I can do that.

Q. So fanartists can draw their own Artcodes?

Heck yeah! Tutorials here.

Q. SO HOW DO I WIN A T-SHIRT?!?

I have five t-shirts. To enter, like or reblog this post. You must be following @embracethemothness - no giveaway blogs please.

I will ship anywhere in the world. All prizes are final and not transferable, etc. etc., you know the drill.  

And if you just want to signal boost, that’s great too. And if you want to talk to me more about interactive badging for RDC4, or if you’ve thought of something even better, then hit me up! I will be delighted to hear from you.

GIVEAWAY!!! 

Win this super-duper interactive moth t-shirt!!! 

It’s the interactive moth your wardrobe has been waiting for! Even better - it’s the only moth that is *guaranteed* 100% wardrobe safe and will almost certainly not cannibalize your other t-shirts, probably!

Q. What even is an interactive moth t-shirt and why should I care?

Good question. The moth on the shirt is an Artcode which works like a QR code, that you scan with the Artcodes app (App Store) (Google Play).

If you open the app, look for the experience “In a Different Light” and scan the moth on your t-shirt, it will take you to this post. If you picked up a card from me at RDC3, you can try it with that card. 

The t-shirt is a proof of concept, to show that it can be useful to put Artcodes on clothing. Setting it to open this post isn’t necessarily exciting on its own, but the point is there are a lot more things we could do with them.

For instance: how many people did you probably walk past at RDC3 without realizing that you are already friends online? Probably more than you know! How many lifelong friendships did you strike up in the autograph queues and then draw a complete blank on their Twitter handle after you got home? Dozens!

But what if everyone were wearing their own Artcode on a T-shirt or a badge or a pendant or earrings or a bag or some other way I haven’t thought of? You could just scan someone’s Artcode to bring up their social media. You could recognize old friends, make new friends, and look even cooler in the process.

Q. Artcode badges for RDC4?!? Could that work? How?

That’s just one idea off the top of my head, I’m sure you can think of more. But any of you would like to do this for RDC4, let me know! We could set up a dedicated Experience in the Artcodes app, that would be available just for the duration of the con.

Artcodes are like barcodes, they represent number combinations. The moth represents the combination 1:1:2:4:4. I would need to add a system to make sure that when you draw your own Artcode, you will always choose a number that isn’t already taken, so your Artcode doesn’t get mixed up with someone else’s. But if enough of you are interested, I can do that.

Q. So fanartists can draw their own Artcodes?

Heck yeah! Tutorials here.

Q. SO HOW DO I WIN A T-SHIRT?!?

I have five t-shirts. To enter, like or reblog this post. You must be following @embracethemothness - no giveaway blogs please.

I will ship anywhere in the world. All prizes are final and not transferable, etc. etc., you know the drill.  

And if you just want to signal boost, that’s great too. And if you want to talk to me more about interactive badging for RDC4, or if you’ve thought of something even better, then hit me up! I will be delighted to hear from you.

GIVEAWAY!!! 

Win this super-duper interactive moth t-shirt!!! 

It’s the interactive moth your wardrobe has been waiting for! Even better - it’s the only moth that is *guaranteed* 100% wardrobe safe and will almost certainly not cannibalize your other t-shirts, probably!

Q. What even is an interactive moth t-shirt and why should I care?

Good question. The moth on the shirt is an Artcode which works like a QR code, that you scan with the Artcodes app (App Store) (Google Play).

If you open the app, look for the experience “In a Different Light” and scan the moth on your t-shirt, it will take you to this post. If you picked up a card from me at RDC3, you can try it with that card. 

The t-shirt is a proof of concept, to show that it can be useful to put Artcodes on clothing. Setting it to open this post isn’t necessarily exciting on its own, but the point is there are a lot more things we could do with them.

For instance: how many people did you probably walk past at RDC3 without realizing that you are already friends online? Probably more than you know! How many lifelong friendships did you strike up in the autograph queues and then draw a complete blank on their Twitter handle after you got home? Dozens!

But what if everyone were wearing their own Artcode on a T-shirt or a badge or a pendant or earrings or a bag or some other way I haven’t thought of? You could just scan someone’s Artcode to bring up their social media. You could recognize old friends, make new friends, and look even cooler in the process.

Q. Artcode badges for RDC4?!? Could that work? How?

That’s just one idea off the top of my head, I’m sure you can think of more. But any of you would like to do this for RDC4, let me know! We could set up a dedicated Experience in the Artcodes app, that would be available just for the duration of the con.

Artcodes are like barcodes, they represent number combinations. The moth represents the combination 1:1:2:4:4. I would need to add a system to make sure that when you draw your own Artcode, you will always choose a number that isn’t already taken, so your Artcode doesn’t get mixed up with someone else’s. But if enough of you are interested, I can do that.

Q. So fanartists can draw their own Artcodes?

Heck yeah! Tutorials here.

Q. SO HOW DO I WIN A T-SHIRT?!?

I have five t-shirts. To enter, like or reblog this post. You must be following @embracethemothness - no giveaway blogs please.

I will ship anywhere in the world. All prizes are final and not transferable, etc. etc., you know the drill.  

And if you just want to signal boost, that’s great too. And if you want to talk to me more about interactive badging for RDC4, or if you’ve thought of something even better, then hit me up! I will be delighted to hear from you.

GIVEAWAY!!! 

Win this super-duper interactive moth t-shirt!!! 

It’s the interactive moth your wardrobe has been waiting for! Even better - it’s the only moth that is *guaranteed* 100% wardrobe safe and will almost certainly not cannibalize your other t-shirts, probably!

Q. What even is an interactive moth t-shirt and why should I care?

Good question. The moth on the shirt is an Artcode which works like a QR code, that you scan with the Artcodes app (App Store) (Google Play).

If you open the app, look for the experience “In a Different Light” and scan the moth on your t-shirt, it will take you to this post. If you picked up a card from me at RDC3, you can try it with that card. 

The t-shirt is a proof of concept, to show that it can be useful to put Artcodes on clothing. Setting it to open this post isn’t necessarily exciting on its own, but the point is there are a lot more things we could do with them.

For instance: how many people did you probably walk past at RDC3 without realizing that you are already friends online? Probably more than you know! How many lifelong friendships did you strike up in the autograph queues and then draw a complete blank on their Twitter handle after you got home? Dozens!

But what if everyone were wearing their own Artcode on a T-shirt or a badge or a pendant or earrings or a bag or some other way I haven’t thought of? You could just scan someone’s Artcode to bring up their social media. You could recognize old friends, make new friends, and look even cooler in the process.

Q. Artcode badges for RDC4?!? Could that work? How?

That’s just one idea off the top of my head, I’m sure you can think of more. But any of you would like to do this for RDC4, let me know! We could set up a dedicated Experience in the Artcodes app, that would be available just for the duration of the con.

Artcodes are like barcodes, they represent number combinations. The moth represents the combination 1:1:2:4:4. I would need to add a system to make sure that when you draw your own Artcode, you will always choose a number that isn’t already taken, so your Artcode doesn’t get mixed up with someone else’s. But if enough of you are interested, I can do that.

Q. So fanartists can draw their own Artcodes?

Heck yeah! Tutorials here.

Q. SO HOW DO I WIN A T-SHIRT?!?

I have five t-shirts. To enter, like or reblog this post. You must be following @embracethemothness - no giveaway blogs please.

I will ship anywhere in the world. All prizes are final and not transferable, etc. etc., you know the drill.  

And if you just want to signal boost, that’s great too. And if you want to talk to me more about interactive badging for RDC4, or if you’ve thought of something even better, then hit me up! I will be delighted to hear from you.

finland’s lapland is home to over twenty thousand reindeer, but with thousands killed every year due to vehicle collisions in the dark, herders now cover the animals’ antlers with a harmless fluorescent paint that glows in the light of oncoming cars, but is otherwise invisible. both female and male reindeer in lapland grow antlers, which they shed in the spring, so a new coating is reapplied in the fall. 

What’s the deal with this moth costume?  The design rationale, explained

So if you click on the first image and zoom in you’ll see a designVUE rationale map for my moth costume at BTRDC. (I can’t get the interactive map to work on Tumblr so this one’s just a static image, sorry.)

The Silence of the Lambs: moths in costume

Artcodes

Sponsors

Patterns and fabrics

Fastening and fit

Lighting

Inks

We Want You?

The Silence of the Lambs: Moths in Costume

I got the idea for this when I found out that all the Death’s Head Moths in The Silence of the Lambs were actually normal moths, dressed in little costumes. Well if those moths get a costume, I get a costume. It’s only fair.

Artcodes

I also had been thinking about Artcodes and how they could be applied to wearables. Artcodes are machine-readable images, basically they’re pictures that work like QR codes, that you scan with a special app (App Store) (Google Play).  note

I see so many gorgeous Hannibal t-shirts and think, hmmm, wouldn’t that look great as an Artcode? But I’m not really a t-shirt wearer. When I got the idea for the death’s head moth costume, though, obviously the death’s head would have to go somewhere, so that’s where the Artcode comes in.

Sponsors

I explained all this to Mort and to my supervisor Jon Crowcroft and they saw the good sense of it. This project was realized thanks to the generosity and vivid imagination of the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory, where I investigate wearables, IoT and privacy.

Patterns and fabrics

I used McCall’s pattern 5137C for the dress and if you look at the concept map, you can see how each printed fabric compares to the original poster moth. The poster moth is stylized, so I obviously spent quite a bit of time looking at images of real death’s head moths, but I ended up making much the same decisions either way. The moth on the poster also has a feature that I found inspiring.

Upper wings: The top part of the wings became the front bodice and top half of the sleeves (Pictures 1 and 2). I used a mottled orange-and-earthtone fabric for that. There was another fabric with more orange in it, that was a better match for the original, but it clashed with the fabric I was going to put next to it.

Lower wings: The bottom part of the wings became the front bodice band, sleeve bands, waistband and waist ties. That one is a photoprint of butterfly wings. (Pictures 1 and 2)

Thorax: The moth’s segmented thorax became the centre front and back panels (Picture 2). I used a black and orange tiger print for that. I considered making some black bias tape and sewing it down the centre front and back, but in the end I decided it looked better the way it was.

The black outline of the moth’s thorax became the side panels, the hem band and the back bodice (Pictures 1 and 2). I used a black and brown batik fabric for this.

Back bodice and death’s head: The back bodice is where the death’s head would go (Pictures 2 and 3). To make sure the fabric at the back didn’t move around too much and distort the picture, I stiffened it with medium-weight interfacing.

Fabric composition: All the fabrics are 100% cotton, all bought on eBay.

Fastening and fit

The dress pulls over the head and tightens by tying the back ties. I needed to give the dress enough ease to pull it on, but also make sure it didn’t crumple up when I tied it at the waist. So I used press studs (Pictures 3 and 4) at each side which snap together to tighten the dress, then you smooth the creases along their vertical length so they’re facing outward, and *then* you tie the waist ties at the back. The waist ties hide the press studs, and as long as the image is high enough above the waistband it doesn’t crumple when you tie the dress tight.

Lighting

Artcodes have done some work in layering the codes by colour [1] and I wondered if we could do the same thing with lighting conditions. Looking closely at the original movie poster, you can see that the skull on the moth is actually Halsman and Dalí’s In Voluptas Mors.

So our first task was to get an Artcode that would scan under a camera flash. And it does!!!

Inks

So this is the part we’re still working on: make the Artcode functionally not visible in normal light (like, you’d only see it if you knew it was there) but then have it come to life in a flash photo.

As you can see, we’re still working on making the image not-visible in normal light. It shows up more in a photo, but still, you can also see it pretty clearly in daylight (Picture 4).

But, you know, one thing at a time. We succeeded in getting an image that scans under flash (Picture 4), the next thing is to find the right inks to get that “now you see me/now you don’t” effect. 

The image in Picture 4 [2] is hand-painted [3] in Glowtec Starglow Ultra Reflective Paint, which gave us the well-defined edges we needed to make the image readable.

We also tried Albedo spray paint, which doesn’t work because it’s spray paint and you don’t get a clean edge. We tried some retroreflective ink powders for screen printing, but there was hardly any time left before BTRDC so that’s an experiment for another day.

So yeah, we have some experimenting to do, but I think it looks pretty cool already.

We Want You?

Hopefully! Like I said, we’re hoping to expand this into something larger, involving more people. So keep watching this space.

(Note: as of today, October 14 2016, if you download Artcodes it won’t have flash enabled, because the version with flash hasn’t been released yet. I was using a test version at BTRDC which does have flash, so it’s definitely coming soon. In the meantime, the app still works with images that don’t need flash.)

[1] Thorn, E., et al., 2016. Exploring large-scale interactive public illustrations. In Proceedings of the 2016 ACM Conference on Designing Interactive Systems (DIS 2016). Brisbane, 4-8 June 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2901790.2901826

[2] Death’s head by Liz Jeal