Relic

Inspiration

Art is usually created with brushes, pencils, or digital tools, but I kept wondering what would happen if the materials themselves changed. Instead of painting with colors, what if we painted with the world around us? A broken phone, a torn receipt, a bottle cap, or a dried leaf all carry texture, history, and character. Relic was inspired by the idea that everyday objects, especially the ones we overlook, can become the building blocks of an entirely new artistic medium.

What it does

Relic is an interactive digital art platform where users create artwork using photographs of real world objects instead of traditional brushes. AI transforms uploaded objects into reusable art materials by removing their backgrounds and preserving their details. Users can freely arrange, edit, and combine these objects on an infinite canvas to create original compositions. Every finished artwork also includes a material summary showing exactly what objects were used, along with an optional artist signature.

How we built it

We built Relic by combining AI assisted image processing with a creative editing environment designed specifically around object based art. The focus was not on generating artwork for users but on giving them an entirely new way to create it. Every design decision centered around making the creative process intuitive while keeping artists in complete control.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was making the editing experience feel powerful without becoming overwhelming. Another challenge was ensuring that uploaded objects remained visually clean after background removal while still preserving small details that make each material unique. We also wanted AI to support creativity rather than replace it.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of creating something that feels like a genuinely new artistic medium instead of another drawing application. Relic encourages people to look at ordinary objects differently and transforms everyday materials into creative possibilities. We are especially proud that the artwork always belongs to the artist, with AI acting as an assistant rather than the creator.

What we learned

Building Relic taught us that technology can expand creativity instead of automating it. We learned that changing the medium itself can completely change the artistic process, and that some of the most interesting creative ideas come from reimagining ordinary things rather than inventing extraordinary ones.

What's next for Relic

We want to expand Relic into a complete creative ecosystem with collaborative canvases, community challenges, shared material libraries, AI assisted composition suggestions, mobile support, and public galleries where artists can showcase and remix work while always crediting the original creator. Our long term goal is to establish object based digital art as its own creative medium rather than simply another editing tool.