I Asked Four AI Models to Design Their Own Lanterns
For Mid-Autumn, four ChatGPT models each designed their own paper lantern, and Codex built all six into a 3D page you can play with. What it could do, and what it couldn't.
Every Mid-Autumn, the lanterns come out. This year I wanted to make my own, without any paper.
So I asked ChatGPT to let four of its models design their OWN paper lantern. Luna, Terra, Sol and Astra each designed one. Codex designed the other two with some inspiration from me, then built all six into a page you can play with.
Who designed what
- Luna designed Quiet Column, a softly squared paper column.
- Terra designed Gilded Parlour, an Art Deco parlour with amber windows.
- Sol designed Calyx Afterglow, with petals curling open around a warm light.
- Astra designed Folded Dusk, a diamond of folded paper facets.
- Codex designed Vermilion Floral and Indigo Hydrangea, with some inspiration from me.
Every lantern has its own link, so you can send someone the exact one you like. Astra’s Folded Dusk is at keithteo.ai/lanterns/?l=folded-dusk.
What it CAN do
Every lantern is 3D and made entirely in code, from the paper panels to the bamboo stick and the candle. You can turn them, flick them, and turn the wind up to a typhoon.
What it couldn’t
The first version only looked right on my own screen. On a smaller laptop the controls were cut off, and on a phone the lantern swapped where you couldn’t see it. It took a few iterations to fix it.
Behind the scenes
- 3D: Three.js, about 1,300 lines of code, no 3D model files.
- Animation: GSAP swaps the lanterns.
- Sound: paper rustles synthesised in the browser, plus an original soundtrack written in code.
- Video: rendered from the same lanterns with HyperFrames.
More about the build on the project page.
Part of a series
I’m building small things for fun to learn what each new model can and cannot do. Before this, Codex rebuilt SP’s first campus in 3D from one photo, and Claude Code embroidered SP’s history in code.
Which lantern would you choose?
Frequently asked
- Who are Luna, Terra, Sol and Astra?
- Four ChatGPT models. I asked ChatGPT to let each of them design their own paper lantern, so four of the six lanterns were designed by the models themselves. Codex designed the other two, with some inspiration from me.
- Can I play with the lanterns?
- Yes, at keithteo.ai/lanterns. You can turn a lantern, flick it to spin, pick another from the collection, and turn the wind up from still air to a typhoon. Every lantern has its own link too.
- Are the lanterns 3D model files?
- No. Every lantern is made in code with Three.js, from the paper panels to the bamboo ribs and the tassel. There are no 3D model files.