ZnelArts, the digital artist who brought the world La Douche, is working on a new project. His next program will be using Apple’s latest ARkit technology to bring your favorite CGI models right into your living room.

The Trailer

The Origin

Augmented reality is still in its infancy but this isn’t preventing ZnelArts from experimenting with the new medium. During his recent visit to Apple’s WWDC 2017 event, ZnelArts got the chance to witness some of AR’s amazing capabilities first hand and immediately recognized its potential. After the conference, ZnelArts was eager to begin developing his own AR software and contacted a friend from Unity to teach him the fundamentals of ARkit.

The first prototype was finally released this week and the demo looks amazing.

The Prototype

The demo starts out with footage of a busy marketplace where swarms of people rush past the camera. In the center of the scene is a gorgeous CGI model who is carelessly dancing in the street. Although the model seems to be perfectly at home in her surroundings, she is not really there. She is just an AR projection being cast into the scene from ZnelArts’ recording device. Everyone in the surrounding area is completely oblivious to the sexy woman in their midst as the CGI character moves and shakes through the entire town square.

The character dances across the city, making her way through public swimming pools and subway stations – even riding an escalator despite a “slippery when wet” sign. In true AR fashion, the model’s graceful movement highlights not only her own beauty but also the beauty of her physical surroundings. Everything from the blue sky to the urban landscape all seems more vivid and alive with her lovely frame in the foreground.

Convincing Positioning

From the look of it, the AR software holds the model in position very well. Even as the camera rotates and jitters, the character’s feet always remain squarely on the ground. The model appears natural and properly scaled and from certain angles can almost look native to the environment.

The only thing that really gives away the character’s true location is the lighting. This isn’t a problem with the app itself but more a limitation of AR in general. Unless the AR models are rendered for an exact time and place, it’s nearly impossible to match the lighting patterns of the real world. As AR technology advances, there will certainly be improvements in this area, but for now, this just comes with the territory.

Future Developments

The app is still only a prototype but already ZnelArts is getting an enthusiastic response from the community. Some are even asking if he will be importing his other La Douche models into the new application. One fan says, “Wow! So amazing! Can you do this with the HTC Vive? Would be great to see the La Douche girls in my living room, lol.”

ZnelArts is the first to admit that his application is barely scratching the surface of what AR is ultimately capable of. He suspects that ARKit is Apple’s first stage of a much larger plan to bring augmented reality to the public.

“A first step is to provide ARKit to developers so customers will be able to experience AR via screen of their phones/tablets. But the next step that Apple will take (I believe they will do it) – is to create an AR glasses – and now all of a sudden, thousands of previously created amazing ARKit games/experiences for iPhones could be experienced in a TRUE AR (i.e. via your eyes).”

Wherever augmented reality takes us in the future, it’s comforting to know that pioneers like ZnelArts will be here to lead the way.