Platonic Love

Platonic Love
NFT Art Project by Esteban Diacono & Mike Shinoda
Recorded:	2021
Released:	March 29, 2021
Length:	7:23
Producer:	Mike Shinoda
Mike Shinoda chronology Dropped Frames, Vol. 3 (2020) Platonic Love (2021) Cognition (2021)

Platonic Love is a 11 piece NFT collection featuring visuals by Esteban Diacono, a motion graphics designer from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and original music by Mike Shinoda. It was debuted on March 29, 2021 through Nifty Gateway.

Background

Mike Shinoda said the duo started talking through Instagram DMs.

The project was announced on March 19, 2021. Esteban Diácono wrote, "Very happy and very excited to announce "Platonic Love", a collaboration between myself and the the great Mike Shinoda. We'll be debuting our first collaboration on March 29th, exclusively on Nifty Gateway. "Platonic Love" is a humble homage to 3D Graphics and how I fell in love with the art and the craft. The collection features original compositions and sound design by Mike Shinoda, who through his music, added a whole new dimension to the visuals."

"The most challenging part of this drop has been getting eyes on the concepts and the decisions," he explained. He further elaborated on the concept behind the project, "The collection is called "Platonic Love" and yes, there's Platonics, and there's also a ton of love put into it. It's a collection about 3D history, about the tools, the journeys, the discovery and the learning processes. It's a bit of a nostalgia trip."

In anticipation of the release, he added, "Final thoughts: Sometimes moving forward means going back, or at least in this case, looking back with love, respect and a deep sense of gratitude to some of the things that helped me get here. I wasn't sure what to bring to the table this time. Dropping on Nifty is an exceptional opportunity, but you can def feel the pressure of putting out something special, something with meaning and for having the chance to present a coherent vision, an idea. When I was outlining the drop, I read a tweet from Billelis that spoke to me. It was about how the most important thing is to tell a story, and in the end, I chose to tell a bit of mine, through polyhedrons, teapots, a bunny, and a bunch of twitter threads. There was a considerable effort around this drop, but the most difficult thing for me was to choose between doing more of what people may have learned to expect from me, or to do something different, more personal. No matter the outcome, I think I chose well. I hope these words find you, and by reading them you'll understand a bit more about me, what I do and why I do it. Thank you for reading and for your support."

Composition

The collection is categorized into three 3D Test objects, Five Platonics and three Open Editions. The 3D Test objects are "The Cornell Box", "The Stanford Bunny" and "The Utah Teapot" while the Five Platonics are the solids: "Thetra", "Hexa", "Octa", "Dodeca" and "Icosa". Each piece of the Open Editions is composed of all Five Platonics (hence why they all have "Platonics" in their titles) with the same mechanics but they are visually different and features different music.

3D Test

About the 3D Test objects, Esteban Diacono explained "the idea was to pay homage, remember and maybe introduce to a new audience the work of the people who helped advance the field of 3D graphics." He continued saying, "The objects presented above were instrumental in getting us to the point we are today, and the Five Platonics have been the faithful companion and favorite subject of countless artists. It felt pretty good to work with all of them again."

The Cornell Box

The description for "The Cornell Box" reads:

"The Cornell box is a test aimed at determining the accuracy of rendering software by comparing the rendered scene with an actual photograph of the same scene, and has become a commonly used 3D test model.The physical properties of the box are designed to show diffuse interreflection. For example, some light should reflect off the red and green walls and bounce onto the white walls, so parts of the white walls should appear slightly red or green."

In a Twitter thread, Esteban Diacono gave a lengthy explaination of the piece:

"The main collection is structured in 2 parts, one of them being dedicated to the tools and elements that have been a constant companion for more that 25 years, and another dedicated to the people who helped advance the field to the point where we are today."

"For decades, very smart people have been studying and advancing the art of accurate, photorealistic representation of synthetic images. A key aspect of that, is the understanding of how light works in the real world and how to reproduce it in a render engine."

"In that area, few test objects (more on this later) have been more useful than "The Cornell box", a test aimed at determining the accuracy of rendering software by comparing the rendered scene with an actual photograph of the same scene"

"It was created by Cindy Goral, Kenneth Torrance, Donald Greenberg, and Bennett Battaile at the Cornell University Program of Computer Graphics, in 1984."

"A physical model of the box is created and photographed, and then everything is measured: emission of the light source, reflectance of all the surfaces, exact position and size of all objects, walls, light source and camera. Then, you compare this data with the rendered image."

"The physical properties of the box are designed to show diffuse interreflection. For example, some light should reflect off the red and green walls and bounce onto the white walls, so parts of the white walls should appear slightly red or green."

"This may sound simple, but light bouncing from one surface from another and color bleeding was, when introduced, a giant step in realism for render engines."

"The work of these people has been instrumental in giving us the tools we enjoy today. The images we effortlessly create today would not be possible without these teams, their papers, and these simple but immensely wise test objects that I learned to love over the years."

"Our take on the Cornell Box aspires to highlight the simplistic beauty of it's design, with a personal touch of organic motion and Mike's evocative, multilayered score."

"That's it for this mini 3D graphics history lesson. Thank you for reading!"

The Stanford Bunny

The description for "The Stanford Bunny" reads:

"The Stanford bunny is a computer graphics 3D test model developed by Greg Turk and Marc Levoy in 1994 at Stanford University. The model consists of 69,451 triangles, with the data determined by 3D scanning a ceramic figurine of a rabbit. The data can be used to test various graphics algorithms, including polygonal simplification, compression, and surface smoothing."

In a Twitter thread, Esteban Diacono gave a lengthy explaination of the piece:

"This piece is about a bunny, just not ANY bunny. The "Stanford Bunny" is one of the most famous computer graphics test models, and it was developed by Greg Turk and Marc Levoy in 1994, at Stanford University."

"The model consists of 69,451 triangles, with the data determined by 3D scanning a ceramic figurine of a rabbit Levoy bought while doing Easter shopping. This figurine and others were scanned to test methods of "range scanning" physical objects."

"The technique that the Cyberware's range scanner uses to make a range image is to move an object through a sheet of bright red laser light. The sheet of laser light is created by sending a beam through a cylindrical lens."

"A camera sees a ribbon of light that wiggles as the object moves through the sheet of light. The scanner examines one row of pixels in such an image and the position of the brightest part of the ribbon gives a measure of distance of the object from the source of laser light."

"In order for an object to be visible to the camera of the range scanner its surface must reflect the red laser light, that's why black or shinny objects may not scan well. This is why the bunny proved to be an exceptional subject for the range scanner."

"Over the years, the "Stanford Bunny" dataset has been extremely useful to test and advance the fields of 3D scanning, UV mapping, polygonal simplification, compression, surface smoothing, non-photorealistic rendering and more."

"While the bunny's polygonal count is low by today's standards, it's still relevant and has become one of the most beloved 3D test models of all time. I used it extensively when I was learning how to render with new render engines like Brazil, or the early incarnation of Arnold."

"Our version of the Stanford Bunny was retopologized, and then remeshed in Houdini in order to provide a surface simple and consistent enough for animation. The pearlescent shader was developed based on the muted colors the range scanner would have liked."

"Mike's score reminded me of the jumpy and attentive nature of bunnies, while maintaining a joyful and nostalgic vibe that completes the vision for this animation."

The Utah Teapot

The description for "The Utah Teapot" reads:

"The Utah teapot, or the Newell teapot, is a 3D test model that has become a standard reference object and an in-joke within the computer graphics community. It is a mathematical model of an ordinary Melitta-brand teapot that appears solid with a nearly rotationally symmetrical body. It was one of the first to be modeled using bézier curves rather than precisely measured."

In a Twitter thread, Esteban Diacono gave a lengthy explaination of the piece:

"When I was first learning 3D Studio Max (v3, at that time) I was very, very surprised to find that amongst the multitude of undecipherable names and strange looking tools, there was something familiar and yet, strangely out of place: a teapot."

"The "Utah Teapot" was created in 1975 by early computer graphics researcher Martin Newell, a member of the pioneering graphics program at the University of Utah. It was one of the first to be modeled using bézier curves rather than precisely measured polygonal modeling."

"The extremely elegant curves that define the mathematical model of the Utah Teapot vs the more mundane look of it's polygonal version:"

"During his student years, Newell faced a problem. He needed a new 3D model, but many existing mathematical models were too simplistic to test the techniques he was working with. It was his wife, Sandra, who suggested that he use their tea set, which included a white teapot."

"Inspired, Newell sketched out the dimensions of the teapot on graph paper, then entered its coordinates on a Tektronix storage tube, an early computer graphics terminal."

"A teapot is an ideal canvas for 3D design. Teapots tend to be smooth and textureless, so even a simple render didn’t look too artificial. With its curvy shape, jutting handle, and spout, a teapot can also cast shadows on itself—making it the perfect self-contained 3D test object."

"Since 3D models were fairly complex to make, computer-graphics researchers embraced the teapot with open arms. Due to its simple but distinct silhouette, the slightly squashed teapot model became a “crash test dummy” for 3D graphics learning, research, and experimentation."

"It wasn’t long before the teapot turned into something of a meme. One 1987 paper jokingly proposed the addition of a sixth Platonic solid: the “Teapotahedron.” For animators, graphic designers, and artists, the teapot became both a classic tool and a beloved emblem."

"With the advent of the first computer-generated short films, and later full-length feature films, it has become an in-joke to hide the Utah teapot in films' scenes."

"Newel went on to an illustrious career in 3D imaging software. In light of his teapot’s digital immortality, he told the Salt Lake Tribune that he wished he had modeled it more carefully the first time around. He donated his original teapot to the Computer History Museum."

"For more than 40 years, programmers have used Newell’s teapot as a starting point, exploring techniques of light, shade, and color to add depth and realism. It is without a doubt the most famous 3D test model, and probably the most beloved."

"Our take on the Utah Teapot uses a polygonal, faceted version, rendered in an iridiscent shader. The Houdini remeshing setup was developed on it, since the idea was to create something resembling a crown. A crown for the Queen of 3D test objects."

"Mike score sounded to me like a cacophony of voices, a reminder of the many visual incarnations of the Utah Teapot and the voices of all the people who encountered it during their journeys, and learned to love it."

"That's it for today's 3D history lesson. Thank you for reading and please share this and the previous pieces if you can."

Five Platonics

The description for the Five Platonics reads:

"In three-dimensional space, a Platonic solid is a regular, convex polyhedron. It is constructed by congruent, regular polygonal faces with the same number of faces meeting at each vertex. Five solids meet these criteria: Thetraedron, Cube, Octahedron, Dodecahedron and Icosahedron."

In a Twitter thread, Esteban Diacono gave a lengthy explaination of the five pieces:

"When I was young and wanted to become a 3D artist, my dreams were made of steel and glass. Having been visually nurtured by countless brandings built around colored crystal & sharp reflective metals, I wanted to learn how to create them and apply that knowledge to my experiments."

"While I consider myself quite curious and open to challenges, over the years I've noticed that I totally suck at tons of aspects of the 3D world. For example, I was never able to learn how to model anything more complex than, let's say, a table."

"Also, 20 years ago there was no internet marketplaces and you were LUCKY if the copy of your software of choice came with a few test assets. So I started to learn by using the most basic tools a 3D app has to offer: Primitives."

"To avoid adding here graphics and more graphics, let's say that Primitives are the most basic figures, like a box, a sphere, a cone, a torus, etc. Among those basic, simple figures, I found the Five Platonics."

"I would present to you the Platonics, but you've already seen them. They're everywhere, in the art of people you never heard of, and in the art of the people you love the most."

"A few artists already present in the NFT space have used them recently: Joanie Lemercier, Jon Noorlander, Odesza, and many more. Each one of these artists used the same elements to different means and with amazing results, so I guess now it's our turn."

"I wanted to pay homage to those ever-present objects, those early inspirations, and the elements that have been with me for more that 23 years. I've been around viewport grids, UV checkerboards and shinny spheres for two decades+, so how could I leave them out?"

"I guess I could write another thread about Mike Shinoda score but I'm not sure I'll ever find the words to do them justice. Mike's synths made the animations feel like coming home and gave me a deep, nostalgic feeling from the first time I saw it all together, sights and sounds."

"I'm so thankful and humbled by this collaboration that I'll avoid embarrassing myself writing cheesy things and move to the next tweet."

Open Editions

In a Twitter thread, Esteban Diacono gave a lengthy explaination of the three pieces:

"There's 3 Open Editions, each one based on all Five Platonics, featuring the same mechanics but using different versions, shaders and lighting, each one featuring an original, distinctive score by Mike Shinoda."

"Platonics: "On a Budget" is a version with the basic shapes, one top light and three simple shaders: checkers, chrome and clay. Mike's slowly building score will creep on you like Student's debt."

"Platonics: "At the Frathouse" is quite colorful and more dynamic. It could be Tokyo or it could be a party. Self illuminating shaders, distorted shapes, a wider angle, some motion sickness and an ominous score because kids, don't do drugs."

"Platonics: "With Honors" is the final version, all bells and whistles. Chrome, glass, subsurface scattering, diffraction, pearlescent shades, all packed into the most elegant version of the Platonics I could come up with. Mike's triumphant score pumps this version up and beyond."

"So now you've seen the whole collection and I have to go to the dentist, something that sounds way more bearable than this anxiety."

Release

The initial release of Platonic Love happened on March 29, 2021 through Nifty Gateway. It is presented as 11 videos in mp4 format, each with an average duration of 40 seconds and containing a different instrumental song made exclusively for the video. The 3D Test objects were limited to 1 unit each, while the Five Platonics were limited to 15 each (despite the announcement that there were only 10).

"Platonics: On A Budget", "Platonics: At The Frathouse" and "Platonics: With Honors" were released on a separate page as Open Editions, meaning the platform allowed for up to 9999 purchases of each piece. However, there was a time limit and they were only available for 5 minutes.

An additional 50 seconds piece titled "A Lot Of Platonic Love" was sold for $1 starting on June 8, 2021 at 2 PM ET exclusively for holders of Platonic Love pieces. It was limited to 20 units. Owning multiple pieces granted multiple entries. While the visuals are unique to this piece, the music is an extended version of "Icosa".

Track Listing

Platonic Love

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	The Cornell Box	Mike Shinoda	0:40
2	The Standford Bunny	Mike Shinoda	0:40
3	The Utah Teapot	Mike Shinoda	0:40
4	Thetra	Mike Shinoda	0:40
5	Hexa	Mike Shinoda	0:40
6	Octa	Mike Shinoda	0:40
7	Dodeca	Mike Shinoda	0:42
8	Icosa	Mike Shinoda	0:40

Platonic Love Open Editions

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	Platonics: On A Budget	Mike Shinoda	0:40
2	Platonics: At The Frathouse	Mike Shinoda	0:40
3	Platonics: With Honors	Mike Shinoda	0:40

Reward Drop

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1	A Lot Of Platonic Love	Mike Shinoda	0:50

Gallery

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  Fan Artwork

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  Platonic Love

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  Platonic Love

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  A Lot Of Platonic Love

External Links

• Platonic Love: Nifty Gateway
• Platonic Love Open Editions: Nifty Gateway
• A Lot Of Platonic Love: Nifty Gateway
• Esteban Diacono x Mike Shinoda: OpenSea