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LuminariaDigital places · 40.76° N
Luminaria
Preparing the grove000
Slow connection? Read the story while it grows ↗

The web can feel like somewhere.

Luminaria is an independent studio concept bringing together art direction, interaction and code, for brands and stories that deserve more than a page.

The forest you are exploring is the first featured work: a self-initiated, real-time 3D experiment in attention and light.

Scroll through the forest to a blossoming water lily, or read the project story using the link above.

Even here, the sky.

Linger with the lily, then look into the pond. Stars and northern lights appear in its reflection. The view pauses to take them in, then rises into the same luminous sky.

Where dreams are made.

The journey pauses among stars and northern lights. A shooting star crosses the sky. Continue scrolling to travel beside it through northern lights into a luminous sea of clouds. The shooting star settles as an opaline pearl, gently responding to the pointer. Every ending, a beginning. With reduced motion, the flight is skipped and the cloud sea and pearl are shown as a still composition.

001 / Selected work

You are inside the first work.

The still edition · enable JavaScript for the animated grove.

Luminaria / Selected work

Selected work 001 / Self-initiated / 2026

Attention becomes
light.

A forest that responds to you. A small study in turning a visitor into a participant.

Actual Luminaria render: the hero leaf sharp in front of a soft canopy and the moon.
01 / Enter through the canopy Real-time scene capture

The idea

Give attention somewhere to go.

Instead of asking visitors to watch an animation, let them leave a trace. Their movement carries light through the leaves. Their attention opens a flower. The return journey remembers the gesture.

Full project notes & credits ↗
Context
Self-initiated artwork
Disciplines
Art direction · Motion · Creative development
Medium
Three.js / Real-time WebGL
Actual Luminaria render: the opening storm of chromatic glass leaves around the hero leaf.
00 / The storm before the forest Real-time scene capture

01 / A place, not a screen

One camera.
An unfolding world.

A close encounter with a leaf becomes a walk under the canopy. Scroll controls the journey, while the grass, leaves and fireflies have their own quieter rhythm.

02 / An interaction with a purpose

Your cursor carries
the story.

The pollen-like pointer illuminates what it touches. At the pond, dwelling over the flower makes that familiar gesture meaningful: attention becomes a bloom.

Actual Luminaria render: the open water lily with its pearl of light, fireflies over the pond.
02 / The encounter at the pond Real-time scene capture

03 / Something stays with you

A journey that remembers.

Send a light from the lily—it takes the colour of the note sounding as you send it—then wander back. The storm that greets you carries that colour, and it is the light you leave with. That connection—not the number of effects—is the heart of the project.

Built for the browser

Three.js renders the forest in real time. The artwork and fluid cursor share the experience; headings remain document text, with a text alternative for the visual journey.

An experience with a way in

Quality controls, pause, a reduced-motion edition and a still fallback keep the work approachable beyond its most animated version. On phones, the tilt of the device is the wind.

Art direction, interaction design and development by Anthony Salas-Alvarez, with AI-assisted tooling. A self-initiated study, built to show what a brand experience can feel like.

From this experiment to your brief.
Luminaria / Studio direction

The practice / What we make

Make the feeling
tangible.

For a brand launch, a cultural story or a product with a world around it. Start with what someone should feel—and build a useful, memorable way to experience it.

01 / Establish the world

Art direction

A visual idea with a reason to exist: composition, type, material and movement working toward the same feeling.

Outcome / A defined direction and representative visual proof
02 / Let people into it

Web experiences

A brand or campaign website that joins expressive moments with clear information, navigation and a next step.

Outcome / A designed and developed website
03 / Prove the unusual part

Interaction studies

Explore the one moment that makes an idea distinctive before committing to a whole production.

Outcome / A focused, playable prototype

A working approach

  1. Listen.Understand the audience, purpose and practical constraints.
  2. Find the idea.Choose a clear visual direction and prove its defining interaction.
  3. Make it real.Build, review and refine against the agreed direction.
  4. Make it usable.Test accessibility, performance and handoff before launch.

Luminaria is the independent studio practice of Anthony Salas-Alvarez, Salt Lake City. New engagements start with a short brief — Contact, top right.

Wonder is the invitation. Clarity is the promise.
Luminaria / A new beginning

Start with a thought

What could
we make?

Tell us who it is for, what needs to change, and the feeling you want people to leave with. The technology comes after the idea.

Goes straight to the studio inbox.
You’ll get a reply within two working days.

Your brief is stored privately and used only to reply to you. No newsletter, no third parties.