The Toronto skyline Anamorphosis on a cup
We learned the polar function during the AP Precal course this year at Concordia International School Shanghai with Doctor Tong. We started to make Anamorphosis, distorted projects or drawings that look normal when projected, with a cup and a plate. This project reflects an image of some key features of the Toronto Skyline onto a cup. These transformations are fascinating and cool. This project also allows us to use math skills in the real word and use our creativity.
Documentation:
Step 1:
Searching for materials
I want to make the cup with reflections of drawings on the cup. To do that, I have to find a plate and a reflecting cup first’
Criteria
- cup could be any color, but preferably a solid color with a reflecting surface
- the plate should be white (so designs could be drawn
Step 2:
Contacting/Negotiating with Vendors
Here’s the ideal cup and plate I want, but with a solid color plate
Negotiating with some vendors, one was able to make what I waned
Step 3: the math behind
Our purpose is to reflect a picture of a skyline that shows normally on the cup by reflecting the picture on the plate. However, the plate and cup both are curved, not being a flat surface.
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Our solution is using polar transformation: we need to transform a rectangular image into a polar image, then draw the polar image on the plate. Therefore, when the picture is reflected onto the cup, it can be shown as rectangular.
We can do this by first downloading an imagine
Then using the distort function on Photopea
Then we chose Polar: this turns the rectangular image into a polar image
Then we cut away the edges to match the plate shape
Step 4: Drawing the skyline
This part is just hand-drawing the skyline according to the picture above.
However, not all the buildings are going to be included; the iconic ones that fit inside the plate will be displayed
