BEyonD tHE RAILS

 

Beyond the rails is an interactive projection mapping installation concept developed in 2018. It features friendly characters from different worlds gathered at a train station. The installation focuses on the busy environment of an urban train station setting, as the audience watches different creatures from Deep Space, The Enchanted Forest, and the Mariana Trench make their daily commute. This project is in the conceptual stages of development, and I have designed many of the characters that would appear in this installation.

Concept Building

The pictures below are early concept pieces that explore different characters from their respective environment, as well as a mockup of the train station. The concept of Beyond the Rails is to be a passerby and watch the interactions of strange characters, such as a fox from the Enchanted Forest drinking his morning coffee while “Business Octopus” rushes to catch his train on the way to his meeting in Deep Space. A library of characters would be procedurally generated to board and leave trains as they arrive and leave, and the audience could watch the train tracker to see when different characters would be coming back.


I then selected some of the stronger designs and sketched dynamic poses, to better understand the character’s nature.

Character Rendering

The pictures below are rendered vector graphics of some of the characters for Beyond the Rails.

 

My role:  I developed the idea for Beyond the Rails when I was given the opportunity to create a projection mapping piece on a vintage train car. As I explored this idea, I sketched out ideas for characters and then took the strongest ones and created vector graphics.

Programs and skills used:

  • Worked with a creative partner to develop and write a grant proposal to fund the completion of this project

  • Used Adobe Illustrator to create ready-to-rig vectorized characters.

  • Used Adobe Photoshop to generate mock-up images of the installation.

Solution: Finish designing and developing the rest of Beyond the Rails when the opportunity arises!