Short answer: Build a self-guided AR exhibition tour by mapping a deliberate 5–8 stop route, writing a 30-second story for each stop, animating each stop's hero piece with subtle motion, and attaching the story plus animation to a scannable trigger beside each work. Chain the stops so each AR experience points to the next, then walk the full tour on a phone and end with a clear call to action. The result is a show that explains and animates itself — combining the AR and Animate tools into one visitor experience.
Who this is for: Galleries, curators, and artists mounting a show who want to deepen engagement and capture leads — without printing wall text, hiring docents, or building an app. This is the most involved playbook in the set; budget half a day.
Why combine AR and Animate instead of using one alone
AR alone delivers context — the story behind a piece. Animate alone delivers motion — a reason to stop and look. A self-guided tour needs both: the story tells visitors what to notice, and the motion rewards them for noticing it. Used together at each stop, they turn a quiet walk past wall labels into a guided experience that holds attention and ends with an action.
This playbook assumes you've already run the two single-tool playbooks at least once: the AR gallery walkthrough and the animate-a-portrait playbook. Here we chain those skills into a full tour.
What you'll need
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| A mounted show | 5–8 pieces you can designate as tour stops |
| The AR tool | Art Reimagined AR — triggers, story layer, stop chaining |
| The Animate tool | Art Reimagined Animate — motion for each hero piece |
| Story content | A short written narrative per stop (you'll draft these) |
| ~Half a day | Mostly writing and testing; the tools handle the build |
Step 1 — Map the tour route and pick the stops
Walk the physical space and choose 5–8 anchor pieces as stops, in a deliberate order that matches how the room flows. A tour is a path, not a QR code on every wall. Too many stops and visitors quit; too few and it doesn't feel like a tour. Five to eight is the sweet spot for a 15–20 minute experience.
Sequence for a narrative arc, not just proximity: open with a hook piece, build through the middle, and save an emotional or signature work for the final stop. The order is part of the storytelling.
Step 2 — Write a 30-second story for each stop
Each stop needs a spoken-length narrative — roughly 70–90 words, about 30 seconds. This is the content the AR layer delivers, and it's what separates a tour from a scavenger hunt:
30-second stop story — structure
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Hook (1 line): Why this piece matters / what to notice first
Intent (2 lines): What the artist was after; the choice they made
Detail (1 line): One thing most people walk past — point to it
Bridge (1 line): "When you're ready, head to the next piece…"
Keep it spoken, not curatorial. Read it aloud — if it
sounds like a wall label, rewrite it like you're talking.
Step 3 — Animate the hero piece at each stop
For each stop, use the Animate tool to give the anchor work subtle motion — the AR moment should reward the visitor for stopping, not just surface text. Follow the restraint rule from the portrait playbook: 10–20% intensity, texture preserved, seamless loop. The motion is the payoff that makes someone glad they scanned.
Consistency across stops matters. Use a similar motion intensity at every stop so the tour feels like one designed experience, not five different effects competing with each other.
Step 4 — Build the AR layer for each stop
In the AR tool, attach three things to a scannable trigger beside each work: the 30-second story, the animated hero piece, and any extra context (process shots, price, a sold dot). Mount each trigger at phone height, close to the piece, so a visitor standing in front of the work can launch the stop naturally.
What each AR stop contains
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1. The animated hero piece (from Step 3)
2. The 30-second story (text or voiced)
3. Optional context: process image, materials, price/availability
4. A "next stop" prompt (built in Step 5)
Step 5 — Chain the stops into a guided path
This is what makes it a tour and not a set of isolated experiences. End each stop's AR layer with a clear "next stop" prompt — a direction and a number — so visitors flow through the show in your intended order instead of wandering and missing pieces:
Chaining prompt examples
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"Stop 3 of 7 complete. The next piece is around the
corner to your left — look for the harbor scene."
"Ready for Stop 5? Cross to the far wall, beneath the window."
Step 6 — Place triggers, test the full walk, and add a finale
Mount every trigger, then walk the entire tour on a phone, end to end, as a first-time visitor would. You're checking three things: every trigger scans reliably, the chaining sends people the right way, and the pacing feels right. Then add a finale at the last stop — the tour should end with an action, not just stop:
Tour finale — end with an ask
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Capture: "Loved the tour? Sign the digital guestbook" (lead capture)
Sell: "Take a piece home — prints available, scan to buy"
Follow: "Follow the artist for the next show"
Share: "Share your favorite stop and tag the gallery"
Common mistakes to avoid
- Too many stops. More than 8 and completion rates fall off a cliff. Curate the path.
- Wall-label writing. If the story sounds written, not spoken, it won't hold attention. Read it aloud.
- Inconsistent motion. Different effects at every stop make the tour feel unplanned. Standardize intensity.
- No chaining. Unlinked stops are just scattered AR pieces — visitors miss half the show.
- Skipping the full walk-through. A trigger that fails mid-tour breaks the whole experience; test the entire route on a phone first.
- No finale. Ending without an ask wastes the most engaged moment a visitor will have all day.
What "done" looks like
A visitor scans the first trigger, hears a 30-second story, watches the piece come gently to life, and is pointed to the next stop. They move through all seven works in your intended order, more engaged at the end than the beginning — and the final stop turns that engagement into a print sale, a follow, or a signed guestbook. The show explains and animates itself, with no docent and no app.
Ready to build your first tour? Start with the AR and Animate tools, or browse all playbooks to sharpen the individual skills first.
