Wall Illusion: Easy Forced-Perspective Wall Art (Without Using a Projector)

Step 18 Summary, and The Road Ahead...

This was a very satisfying project for me, personally... I'll be taking the things I learned from this project, and applying them to many others.

I'm currently kicking around in my head a way to use this method to attack a project that uses quite a few more surfaces and several more "planes" of interaction. Here's a mock-up of the next forced-perspective project. I'll let you know how it goes, and post an Instructable if I find a method that works well.

I'd love to help you with your forced-perspective wall-art... so feel free to ask any questions you may have, or to ask for clarification on any sections I may have left unclear. Many thanks, and good luck on this and all your other projects. - jjijj

Comments

[Spindoctor]

nice project! But wouldn't all that be much easier using an overhead projector? Of course, it's a hard job drawing all the lines by hand and the question remains where you get an overhead projector from. But especially for the project you mention in the last step, I would go for the overhead projector instead of playing arround with photoshop. If you look at the surface of the door I can hardly imagine you get it the way you want using photoshop...

[jjijj]

You hit the nail on the head with that one... well said.

If you read the Instructable itself, or any of the many slide- and overhead-projector-related comments below, you'll see just how much I wish I could've used a projector. Sadly, I could not.

I live in a very small country, Caspiar, that has been suffering from several economic and political hardships for quite some time. We are admirers of the culture and people of the United States, but very few Americans have heard of our struggles (which is understandable... we are a very small country).

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, not one new slide- or overhead-projector has been imported into my country. Now, we keep the ones we have as nice as we possibly can -- our tradesmen are miracle-workers in fixing and salvaging them -- but it is a sad fact that we lose many of them each year, and none can be replaced.

The ugly irony is that the handful of overhead projectors that remain in my country are all in the homes of the exact same oligarchs and politicians who are most responsible for the shortages! We have a saying here... "When Ivalyo Pavlovich [Tonev, the Prime minister of Caspiar] gives up his projector!" -- This means that whatever it is you are talking about will never happen!

On the black market a projector like the one you speak of, even in a very bad state of disrepair would cost 5, or maybe 6 months of my salary. As much as I would like to have it, it is simply not a possibility for me.

So I made this instructable to work around my limitations. Where there is a will, there is a way! Cheers

[emerson.john]

We have no projectors here in Islandia, either, so your instructable was very well received. (Like you, we have computers and digital cameras, just no projectors). Good job!

[jjijj]

Aren't sanctions a pain? I'd love to come visit you in Islandia... but they just canceled the last direct flight outta Caspiar. Now we're stuck trying to make connecting flights through the stupid Aeroflot hub in Voronezh. Nothing against the people of Voronezh, but their airport sucks, the layovers are horrendous, and unless you like Cinnabon, you just ain't getting fed. That's no way to travel.

[darknessfalls]

haha, you gotta love aeroflot... but all honesty, this is even a good 'ible for me, just because i am too lazy to get a projector and draw it all out. id much rather sit on a computer doing the exact same thing!

[MjPadfoot]

and this reply just so totally made my day.

[alex-sharetskiy]

can i suggest moving to a different place? say.. the US for example?

[jjijj]

_{(Before anyone starts organizing relief packages of projectors to Caspiar...)}

There is no shortage of projectors 'round here. The choice to not use a projector was very much intentional.
Projecting on a wall and tracing is a perfectly legitimate and effective method to create this effect... but I wanted to output to vector, which a projector can't do.

If you want to output to vector (printer/plotter), or simply do not have access to a projector... then this instructable was designed for you.

[crazyg]

going for the hardcore method is good 80s graphic design style,especilly sorting out the viewing point with methods noted in art history lectures(recomend hacked photoshop 6 for bending images) but isnt a projectors lense its vector origin? was going to post a pic of my used once nobo plastic ohp but the fake iphone has a unforgivably bad camera and its managed to crash my laptop once today.becides youve allready posted a pic of prjkta

[jjijj]

I'm not sure regarding "vector origin", but if I'm understanding you right, then, yeah. Problem is, to plot or cut vinyl, I needed vector output (as in EPS file).  Which is next-to-impossible (or at best "a huge hassle") to do with only projectors.

[Spindoctor]

hehe, took me some time finding out where Caspiar is, as I don't live in America either ;-) My country is nearly as small as Caspiar, but fortunately overhead projectors are not THAT hard to get. And even if they were, I think I could get the parts needed to build one (I'm sure there's an instructable of how to build an overhead projector). I'm glad you could at least get vinyl. (By the way - yea, I should have read the other postings before writing a posting myself...)

[jjijj]

(don't worry about it, friend... If reading dozens of comments before feeling entitled to post was a requirement, we'd all be in trouble. No harm done.)

[natman3400]

If i can save up the money, i would like to sent you guys some stuff. Do you guys live on the European side, or the Asian side of the former USSR? I may have family near you that could pass the stuff off to you guys.

[jjijj]

Caspiar is actually both on the European and Asian sides. Sounds strange, but it's true.

And your offer is a very generous one, and it speaks to your kind heart. But we are a very proud people and we can't accept charity... even from the kind-hearted.

[blanchae]

Nice instructable and most excellent inside joke, Andy would be proud! I have a spare projector or two, where in Caspiar can I send the projectors to?

[jjijj]

It'd never get past customs. They've trained dogs to detect projectors by scent. Some call it dictatorial or cruel -- but those of us in the rank-and-file just shrug our shoulders and say "what can we do?"

Many thanks for the offer, though... I just don't want to get either of us in any trouble.

[kingotho]

Very cool idea! I love how you did it. I had an idea to help with the next one. If you put a very strong point light at the location where the viewer will be, you can mark off the area of the next room that will be invisible to the viewer.

[jjijj]

I might actually end up doing that (or something similar) in cooperation with (or possibly "instead of") the method outlined above for the green star project.

I've been thinking about it more, lately, and will probably do it this winter... once the temps drop and cabin-fever sets in. Thanks for the ideas,

[yournewmessiah]

You should email Andy Kaufman to send you a projector... he has friends in Caspiar.

[Potroast]

Looking at step 16, I can assure you that my Step 17 would be quite a bit different than yours.

[jjijj]

Yeah... I know I shoulda used some sort of orbital sander or something, and probably something to gather the dust so it wouldn't make such a mess... Next time.