What I Learned from AI by Creating This Project: Exploring AR, Design, and Innovation
Review of My AR Project: Promoting the Muay Thai Boxing Competition
The concept of my project was to promote an exciting Muay Thai boxing competition through an immersive AR experience. The idea was that once people scan a poster using their smartphones, an animated scene featuring Muay Thai fighters would pop up, capturing their attention and encouraging them to join and watch the upcoming event.
Key Learning Areas:
1. Concept to AR Process: I began by sketching out the core concept and planning the visual and interactive elements. This involved creating 3D models of the Muay Thai fighters, animals in the forest, and the overall environment. By converting my 2D sketches into images and turning them into 3D assets, I learned how to bridge the gap between concept and execution. It was insightful to see how initial ideas could be adapted and transformed into something interactive and immersive in an AR experience.
2. Diversity and Sophistication of Tools: Throughout the project, I explored a variety of advanced tools, each one has it’s own benefit and strength. Adobe Aero played a key role in making the AR experience interactive, allowing users to scan the poster and see the Muay Thai fighters in action. OpenArt.ai was essential for creating detailed assets, offering flexibility to fine-tune facial expressions, body gestures, and even backgrounds with precision.
When it came to transforming 2D sketches into 3D assets, Meshy helped convert my designs, although there were some challenges like twisted limbs and unclear facial expressions. Mixamo provided a user-friendly solution for animating the fighters, with a wide library of human motions perfect for my Muay Thai characters. However, it had limitations, such as a lack of support for non-human characters, which required adaptation in the design process. Additionally, DeepMotion enabled a higher degree of animation customization through text-based prompts, offering smoother and more dynamic motions, though uploading custom characters had its own restrictions.
By integrating all these tools, I learned how to balance convenience, adaptability, and technical challenges in creating a compelling AR experience.
3. Challenges and Failures: During development, I faced several challenges, such as errors in creating accurate 3D models, especially with limbs or facial expressions, and difficulties when uploading my designs for animation. I also struggled to add custom animations due to preset limitations. These failures, however, taught me the importance of adapting and finding alternatives — whether using preset characters or adjusting the assets in Blender. Every setback was a learning moment in understanding how to make the technology work for my goals.
Another challenge was creating the boxing ring in 3D. Initially, I struggled with this until I realized I could upload a 2D boxing ring sketch into Meshy, which then generated the 3D version. This unexpected success taught me the flexibility of AR tools and how to troubleshoot effectively.
4. Adapting to AR: One of the most exciting parts was creating interactive elements within Adobe Aero, where I added trigger points. By scanning the promotional poster, to initiate the AR animations. This integration helped me understand how to blend digital assets with the physical world, turning the AR experience into an interactive promotional tool.
5. Strengths:
a) Immersive Experience: The final AR project successfully drew people into the world of Muay Thai with the dynamic fight scenes. The visuals and interactivity made the project more engaging and impactful.
b) Learning New Tools: This project strengthened my knowledge of AR platforms and motion tools. I became more skilled at blending technologies like OpenArt, Mixamo, Meshy and Aero to create an immersive experience. This has given me confidence in exploring new tools and techniques for future projects.
6. Weaknesses:
Customization Challenges: Although Mixamo was great for generating animations, its limited customization options hindered my ability to create more unique fight moves and facial expression. I needed more time to manually fine-tune the animations and outlook.
Final Reflection: What I Learned from Creating this AR Experience
Through this project, I gained a deep understanding of Augmented Reality (AR) and how it differs from Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR). AR adds digital elements to the real world, enhancing what we see and experience, while VR immerses users entirely in a virtual environment. This AR project helped me understand how AR acts as a bridge between the physical and digital worlds. This experience opened my eyes to how AR is paving the way for even more immersive, interactive technologies like MR.
AI Integration: A Game-Changer in Asset Creation and Promotion
Another major takeaway was the growing role of AI in design and development. I learned that AI is now everywhere, making it easier for anyone to create their own assets for digital marketing, content creation, or AR/VR experiences. Platforms like OpenArt.ai and DeepMotion allowed me to generate and animate my 3D models with minimal effort. This has made the creative process faster and more accessible, showing that AI tools are available to anyone willing to explore them.
AI’s convenience can add great value to our projects and the world. Whether we’re creating assets or promoting events, AI opens up new ways to innovate and produce content quickly.
In conclusion, this project helped me understand AR and AI better. I discovered how AI integration is shaping the future of design and marketing, providing us with powerful tools to work smarter and more efficiently while creating innovative experiences that connect the digital and real worlds.