Emerging tech VR art
This week had the focus on VR art and for this I used Tiltbrush. Before we began I looked at how Tiltbrush has been used already to try and inspire me and to also see what the limitations are so I don’t over plan. I looked on YouTube at peoples work showcases and what I found is that the work people make often looks very scratchy and getting clean lines is near impossible so this was good for me to keep in mind so I can work with this to my advantage and lean into the stylised look.
The Meta quest took some getting used too as I have never been in VR for an extended period of time but going in with the knowledge I need to take regular breaks I know it’d be okay and safe. Tiltbrush as a software I found incredible responsive and after a short amount of time in the headset I began to feel like the brushes were an extension of my own hands and the freedom of being able to move around the art and get inside of what you are sculpting was very captivating to me. As a group of four we used the software to make a simple scene of a tree and fire as we got familiar with the controls and how to switch between tools and brush sizes. It was a medium that gave me as a creative person great freedom as I moved around the space and could use light brushes to create flames and little fireflies around the scene. The experience of Tiltbrush was one of great enjoyment as I sent most of it on the floor using brushes to see what interesting effects I could make. The scene pictured bellow is what we made, simple but was key in us learning the software.
I found myself having enjoyed using the headset so much that I booked some extra time with it to make another simple model and I did a mock up of a character on my own after the group test. I went into a blank room and using the wire brush made a simple character skeleton, then once happy I could use a matte brush and paint skin onto him and this was amazing to see one of my characters come to life, be life size in front of me and to be able to have that sense of scale when looking up working on him. Once the base model was done I also found myself having great fun in adding fauna around him, sparkles and lights that twinkled around him and this elevated the sketch into a more interesting piece to look at and you can also use the extras to show off the characters personality adding another level to the design.
This was the most captivating workshop yet and made my idea in my mind solid that I wanted to work in Tiltbrush for my final project. The way you model with what feels like your bare hands and being able to play with scale for the viewer was a feeling like no other. I can see myself in the near future making another more detailed character sketch for my Artstation hopefully. If I continue to use this I just need to ensure I give my eyes plenty of rest as I find I can be a motion sick person but this is easy to combat. My current attempts are very rough but with time I want to make a more fully finished character with multiple designs as character design is a passion of mine so to be able to do this in another medium is very interesting to me.
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). VR ART: Tiltbrush, Blocks and Mindshow – NEW FEATURES! [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/cHnVg4uL0Zw [Accessed 25 Oct. 2023].
