Making of
In order to realize the installation, population density mountains must be created. This first requires data that can be used to design this part of the model. A render based on data from Nasa was used. This visualization shows the population density in the world by color (heat map). The image as a data file was used as input for generating the 3D model with Houdini. The figure of the data tree in Houdini shows how the image is directed to the mountain landscape; this tree can be divided into four segments. In the first part, the visualization is converted into points that have the color of the underlying pixels, this color is a vector. Based on the length of this vector, the points are moved in the normal direction, creating a mountain landscape. Then the mesh of this mountain range is rearranged so that the vertices are more evenly distributed, which is necessary for a clean result. The mountain range is then sliced to reveal the layers. In the final stages, the flat layers (cuts) only need to be extruded according to the thickness of the layers. After that, the model is ready to be produced.