A large physical artwork rebuilt as an animated AR character

HI-GH · animated AR sculpture

For artist Sheikki, flyAR scanned and rebuilt HI-GH, a movie-inspired physical sculpture from the Demolition Art project in Kerava (Purkutaide 2024), as an animated 3D and AR character.

Client: Sheikki
Sector: Art
Year: 2024
Service: Culture, tourism & place-based WebAR
Delivery: Browser · QR

HI-GH · animated AR sculpture · case reel

01 Problem

Problem

The sculpture existed as a large physical work. The digital version needed to carry its scale and material personality without becoming a flat scan.

02 Approach

Approach

We used photogrammetry as a base, then remodeled and retextured the character using scan material for surface detail. The digital version received walk, look-around, and shooting animations.

HI-GH and a droid-inspired companion character in an animated scene

HI-GH animated 3D character rebuilt from the physical sculpture

03 Outcome

Outcome

A three-to-four-metre physical sculpture became a web and AR object.
The work can be tried from a website embed and placed in AR.
A droid-inspired variant extended the character world.
HI-GH was also part of Virtual Art House.

HI-GH walkAR in the wild by Sheikkis street art

HI-GH walkAR in the wild by Sheikkis street art

Inputs we worked from

Physical sculpture
Photogrammetry scans
Artist reference

Audiences

Art audiences
Demolition Art visitors
Online viewers

Deliverables

3D scanned character
Animated AR model
Website embed

Service used

Culture, tourism & place-based WebAR

Make place-based stories walkable, visible, and memorable. Designed for the real signage, languages, and maintenance.

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Worth knowing before you write a brief

AppsFlyer's 2025 benchmark across 28 billion installs puts Day-1 retention at around 25%. AR apps sit below that floor, because every reviewer is a single-use case, not a habit. WebAR removes the funnel. The link that opened the experience the first time still opens it the second.

Source: AppsFlyer 2025 · Adjust 2026

Read what installs cost an AR campaign

Rework runs around 12% of a typical construction budget. Peer-reviewed BIM studies in 2025 report that putting an optimised 3D model in front of stakeholders before the first pour prevents at least a third of that, and as much as half on projects that share the model early. One Asian rail case caught 3,000 design clashes and shaved 12% off construction cost on its own.

Source: Nature Sci Rep 2025 · Springer Discover Materials 2025

Read what 3D pre-viz prevents that drawings do not

Shopify's own data, drawn from millions of stores. The 65% sits next to a 94% conversion lift on stores that add any 3D content, and a 40% drop in returns when AR closes the imagination gap. The mechanism carries from product pages to construction, museums, and brand work.

Source: Shopify · The ROI on AR

Read why the imagination gap is not just retail's problem

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