Cloud Light is a lighting object that draws inspiration from signed distance function geometries and nature. It functions as a lamp and draws a comparison between smooth-unioned SDF spheres and clouds illuminated by rays of sunlight.
Cloud Light is a lighting object that draws inspiration from signed distance function geometries and nature. It functions as a lamp and draws a comparison between smooth-unioned SDF spheres and clouds illuminated by rays of sunlight.
During my first semester at the Media Lab I became interested in shaders, SDF geometries and ray marching. I began experimenting with distance functions that produce interesting geometrical forms, and became particularly drawn to the elegance of SDF spheres and the smooth minimum (smin) operator. I started to experiment with these functions in a fragment shaders using openFrameworks, and I found the simplicity of the implementation and the resulting visual aesthetic appealing.
Later during winter break, I enrolled in a IAP workshop called Topographies of Light, which gave me an opportunity to create a lighting installation. I became interested in the way that sunlight diffuses through naturally occurring liquids (e.g. rain, fog, snow, and clouds) and I was enamored with the imagery I began collecting. In a moment of serendipity I remembered the SDF sketches I'd made and their resemblance to the cloud imagery that I was fond of.
From there, I set out to design a lighting object that evoked the aesthetic qualities of a cloud and diffused light in a similar manner, using the GLSL code I'd written as a design impetus.
To achieve a curved and rounded 3-dimensional form, I replicated my signed distance function sphere sketch as a mesh and divided it into evenly-spaced sections.
I created a final composition of spheres and used the section's curve data to create new sketches that enabled me to further explore the geometry.
I brought the data into a 3D modeling software to complete the design details and assembly features.
I used white ash plywood and frosted acrylic as primary materials, interleaving them across each section of the object. I milled the plywood pieces using an automatic tool change CNC mill. This enabled me to mill the outline shape, drill the assembly holes, and mill an inset trace for the conductive traces, all in one pass. I laser cut the frosted acrylic pieces.
I soldered diodes to the copper vinyl on each wooden layer. I then assembled the structure by inserting steel rods through the center of each sphere.
The result is a cloud-like lighting object that evokes the feeling of the sketches and imagery I was inspired by.