The purpose of this project is to reconstruct the mutual transformation between the 3d and 2d perspectives of mountains in the simulated environment technically realized by Unity3D and Grasshopper, attempting to simulate the effect of visual disturbance (optical illusion). Inspired by the relative perspective utilized by Shanshui painting, this technique essentially enhances the viewer’s spiritual and temporal experience by emphasizing the philosophical concepts of harmony and balance, simultaneously encapsulating different moments in time within a single artwork. This approach reflects a more dynamic interaction with the landscape, akin to a narrative unfolding over time rather than a single snapshot. Keep this in mind, we initialized the project with the 2D pattern of mountains, creating surfaces, and then base cubes on surfaces controlled by mathematical equations.

The technical workflow involves: creating a surface (which is the site of “mountains”), dividing this surface, creating random cubes to form the “mountain” pattern, setting up the connection between Grasshopper and Unity, and introducing additional playable patterns in Unity. In this way, all the variables controlled by sliders in Grasshopper could be simultaneously reflected in Unity, and users may play with Illusionscape, adding perspective shifts and shuttling between the worlds of 2D and 3D.