For my Visual Effects Master of Arts Degree, I struggled for a while with figuring out what I wanted to do with my final project. It felt like no matter what I came up with, the project was too big, too small, or too boring.
Trying to give myself some new ideas, I took a weekend trip with a friend, and aspiring puppeteer, to Atlanta. We spent some time thrift shopping, went to some used book stores, and had a great time looking for Muppets Memorabilia - the whole point of the trip, for my friend.
We closed off by taking a trip to the Center for Puppetry Arts.
While taking pictures with the cast of Sesame Street, something my friend said stood out to me.
From left to right - Daniela Rumbaut, Boober Fraggle, Bert.
"You see the way Elmo's nose sparkles?
That's Antron Fleece.
They don't make it anymore."
Doing some more digging back in the hotel room, I realized that this phenomenon, of fabrics going out of production, wasn't uncommon.
But the museum setup never felt quite right for me for textiles.
A museum display only allows the viewer to look at the fabric, and even then, never in motion, and never under changing light. So much information about the material is lost under these conditions.
Why not find a better way to bring these fabrics to the world
using my skills in VFX?
using my skills in VFX?
The process began with lots of research. I got a partnership going with the Center for Puppetry Arts, and established contact with the Jim Henson Company and the Smithsonian. The general consensus was that yes! This project would be something they were interested in.
I modeled, rigged, and animated a simple puppet in Maya to be the basis for my demonstration.
His name is Swimothy.
From there, all I needed to do was teach myself how to do fur simulations in Houdini!
Here's some of the many pictures I took during my second trip to the Center for Puppetry Arts' Archive! I wasn't permitted to handle the fabric, but I was able to take high resolution images to see all the properties of the fabric. Additionally, they let me use my microscope camera to get some photos of the fiber itself!
Of course, the day after this trip up to Atlanta, a professor from the VFX department told me he'd gotten his hands on a verified piece of Antron from a friend. He was generous enough to send it my way, and being able to touch, move, and view the fabric in changing light was huge! It gave me so much more information, and reinforced for me why this project was so important. You just can't compare a photograph to the real thing!
Thank you, Professor Schur!
All of this came together into the final product - something that shows what makes this fabric so special! Its ability to react to light and motion, its texture, and most importantly, that beautiful reflection!
I created three final renders - one with Antron fiber and fleece, one with Antron fiber arranged like a modern fleece, and one modern fiber and fleece.
The results showcase how Antron, both the fiber and the fleece, interact with light so differently from a modern fleece. They prove more reflection, more depth in the light and shadows, and a distinct glitter that a modern fiber lacks.
After sending my results to the Center for Puppetry Arts, I received a response from them confirming that yes, this is a great way to show the importance of Antron Fleece. The files from this project have been donated to the Center for Puppetry Arts, and are now part of their digital archive.
I'm so happy this project turned out like it did. It took a lot of work and I needed to learn so many new skills for it, but the final result is something which is truly unique. I hope this process will make it easier for museums to educate the public on textiles in the future, and I can't wait to see what I can create, or recreate, next!
