This is my first time doing an AR project, and although face filters are fun, I’m more into making something related to imagined or bizarre augmented spaces. Below is the process of making SUGO (Stand Up! Get Out!) AR experience.

SUGO (Stand Up! Get Out!) is an experience that encourages office workers or students to stand up and go around after sitting for a long time. In the app, users can find different spots within the building they work, how far is it for them to get to one spot, how many calories they burn, how much time does it take. Get Out! is the concept the people are sometimes tired of their reality, stressed out of work or study. They need to disappear to another universe for a while, to relax, to have a good vibe, restart their mind, and chill a little.

At each spot, there is a QR code for users to scan and the AR experience starts. On the user’s screen when scanning around, a door will appear, revealing elements inside. Users can follow and get into the augmented space. Each spot in the app will have a different space, different theme. The Party room is one space among other spaces of the project. In this room, users can experience a party from out of space, enjoy the music within it, tapping on the creatures to see them dancing to the music with you.

1. Inspirations:

I want to get out of HERE! 🏃‍♀️

Do you recognize the familiar image of this character? Yes, that’s the Magic door of Doraemon. More than one time in my life when I am stressed with works and heavy tasks, I always want to go somewhere different from my desk, somewhere strange or extraordinary.

Moreover, being quarantined at home for a lot of phases for almost 2 years now, we can get tired and depressed sometimes.

I guess it is just not my own thoughts. With SUGO (Stand Up! Get Out!) everyone can go and discover the new world themselves, just a few steps away. I know VR can bring a much better experience in terms of immersive space and reality, but not everyone has a set of VR headsets equipped at home. But almost everyone has a smartphone these days and age, why not apply on this device for a quick and “low budget” trip. 🙌

OMG, my back is killing me.

Literally! As we all, sitting too long at one place for studying, working on a computer, reading, etc will cause effects on our body. A lot of people I know that are working in the creative industry have trouble with their backs. According to an article from Harvard Health Publishing, “habitual inactivity raises risks for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, deep-vein thrombosis, and metabolic syndrome”

Real-estate AR/VR Experience

Many websites of Real Estate nowadays have AR/VR options for the user to see the house or the room in 360 degrees, even VR where they can “be there” to experience themselves. This is extremely helpful for those that are busy, or from another city, another country. I am very inspired by how AR can help people to be immersed in a specific area with very little effort.

2. User story

3. Initial plan

👉 The visual style for this project should be various from styles, color palette to visual effects to show a wide range of favor in styles for many people, many interests.

👉 The topic for each room should be distinctly different.

👉 The world can be 3D, 2D, or 3D fake 2D but mostly will be 3D.

👉 The door can be a normal door like the magic door of Doraemon, or doors can just be an entranceway with different types (a cave hole, a rounded tunnel to a spaceship, a mouth to get inside a monster, a fish tank, etc.)

👉 The more artists that can collaborate to create this project, the better results we have.

4. Visual style

I want to go with this kind of visual style: flat, graphical, minimize the number of colors used, black old-school outlines with very simple shapes and drawings.

I love how things are simplified and look happy, positive since I want to give the users a good vibe, details related to parties, happiness, and fun times.

Below is the combination of colors that I choose for this project. These are Secondary colors that remind me of the neon lights of a party, bright images, and the sunset sky colors.

5. Detail sketch

Room on the left is a mixture of the outdoor and indoor scenes when the beach invades the room. In another universe, the objects related to the beach such as the umbrella, the blanket, the ball become living creatures.

On the right is a LAZY TRIBE where everyone is the same and nobody does anything. Every creature here is laying around, nobody cares if you work or you even wear anything or not. You can live a lazy life like them, and they are calling you to stay.

The last sketch is the one I want to go with. The concept is a party for creatures from out of space, where everything is enjoying the music. The right includes the color palette I use for this project and the toon 3D visual styles. Not many characters are on the floor so that the user can go around a little. The characters within this party demonstrate what makes humans happy in their normal life: money, food, drinks, music, etc.

6. 3D Modeling

Here is a quick recap of how I created the assets.

6. Spark AR Build

Testing stage 1

👍 What works?

The image texture I wrapped the object is working really well. At first, the object's colors are darkened a little, but after I choose the material to be Flat instead of Standard, it’s okay.

I can enter the room and it stays for me to look around.

👎 What does not work?

The walls are too low so it needs to be higher, together with adding a ceiling for the room

The floor is too high, I don’t feel like the room is put on the ground but kinda floating on the air. I am in the middle of the floor like wearing a floaty.

The sandwich is a bit too big for the room. I should either resize or remove it to give the room some air.

The floor color should be changed, may into a darker color, not the same as the pink back wall as it creates an illusion and I cannot tell where the floor finishes.

Reflection

What works?

• I learn so much about doing an AR experience: my first time doing wrapping texture, building interactions, and animation in Spark AR.
• I have more skills in making an augmented space, which may help me when I jump into VR projects.
• My original intention is to make the whole experience inside the SUGO app, where you can track spots that you have been to and so many other things. However, with the limitation of such a short time and my skills in developing an app, I may have to keep the idea for the next time. The AR Room will only be distributed as an Immersive filter on Facebook.

What does not work?

• I need to manage my project better in terms of direction and time. Since I have not done any filters before, I am sometimes too into discovering new techniques in doing a lot of experience.
• If I manage my time better, I would have dig deeper in Instructions within my experience as people may not know if they can touch them to move. I also want to improve my Poster since I run out of time to give out a better result.
• Some of the things that discourage me from doing my first Story (Literal Idioms) are now discovered and I know how to fix them now. If I have a chance, I will do it as my personal project.

Thanks for reading.

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