water

I've started an open souce exhibit project with Kyle Walker at
http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/water/water-projects/3-ationz

Here's a bit about how it got started, stage by stage.  It's a "diorama of sorts that illustrates the water cycle via the landscape of ice, water, clouds, precipitation etc" .  Remember this from school?

This project is a type of diorama that may have representative or stylized elements. The visitor will control heating and cooling elements which can put into motion the water cycle. Notice the "sun" element is on a support, not just floating in space. In modeling these we need to remember we're designing for the real world! How would this actually work in the real world? Still figuring that bit out, or whether it's worth it for that matter. That's what prototyping is all about.

Prototyping in Second Life (tm) is extremely rapid.  We both worked on this and got this sketch worked out in less than 30 minutes.  This provides a base model that you can develop from... that's where the open source bit starts!

This is an open source project, please join it if you'd like to collaborate on this concept!

We start with a basic black exhibit frame.

Add a bit of watery looking items as a base.

Center it and add some motion via a script.

Then, a backing surface.  This exhibit will be back against a wall.

Added a depth to the water as if it is sitting in the container.

How to illustrate ice?  Where should ice go? Mountaintops have ice that melt into water.

Ok, clouds, clouds are water vapor.  How can these be illustrated or even built?

The sun is a vital element that drives the cycle.  Let's add the sun as a heating element.

We were joined by Avatar Mactavish who offered some feedback in real time.

Kyle added light rays to the sun and snow caps to the mountains.

It is coming along, but still needs a lot of work.  How for example should the sun move?

If the sun element moves, will this mislead visitors that the sun revolves around the earth?

Kyle completed the clouds and added a photo box.  This black frame closes off distracting elements so that you can see the model.

In the remaining minutes, we looked at how to move the sun. Two types of cranks were suggested in real time.

This exhibit is to be continued... Got any suggestions? You can join the project or start one of  your own here: http://thetechvirtual.org/projects/water