3D Animated Painting: Walking Inside of the Painting of The Goddess of the Luo

Increased consumption of virtual museum content today has fueled the development of new ways of improving the ‘museum experience.’ The sophisticated needs and expectations of the modern visitor in the pursuit of education, leisure, and adventure within museums, can be fulfilled through the application of modern-day solutions. The objective of this study is to improve the experience of paintings through providing audiences three-dimensional immersive virtual experiences. In order to achieve this goal, a case study was created to explore in depth the idea that three-dimensional interventions with interactive elements will improve experience and enhance museum engagement. A practice-based methodology was used to develop a three-dimensional virtual environment of the painting of The Goddess of the Luo by Gu Kazhi. The expertise and knowledge of the researcher concerning photo-editing software and three-dimensional game engine were instrumental in the design and implementation of the virtual environment. The results indicated that through the combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional elements, the design of instrumental interaction and interpretive materials based on the original painting, various techniques and strategies could be applied to improve the experience of the three-dimensional animated painting. The approach described in this case study could be applied to the physical museums as a supplement to interpret the original painting, as well as being displayed on the official website of the museums.