6 Amazing Creative Tools for VR
Originally published at www.vudream.com on December 18, 2017.
Virtual Reality is making an impact within many different industries. Today, we will be showcasing some of the coolest paining and design tools that the VR creative industry has to offer.
You’ve probably heard the talk that VR has expanded far from just video games and entertainment. As VR advances, people are finding new and exciting ways to apply the technology to nearly every field out there.
One of the most underrated fields is the creative industry. I’m talking about tools that help people tell stories through Art. Virtual reality has opened up a whole new opportunity for people to be creative through 3D painting and design.
Here are six awesome examples of Virtual Reality as a creative tool.
Tilt Brush
You’ve probably heard of this one. Tilt Brush by Google is one of the most well known painting tools for Virtual Reality, and for good reason. It features a wide variety of brushes. Standard brushes provide a traditional feel, while dynamic brushes like “shooting stars” allow for unique visual effects.
Tilt Brush also features an easy to use interface that is simple to learn, regardless of your skill level. You can even walk around your art in real time, allowing you to discover and create at virtually every angle.
If you’re more of an admirer or looking to get inspired, check out Tilt Brush’s Artist in Residence, an online portfolio that showcases a variety of artists and their work within the VR space.
Tilt Brush by Google is available on both the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift for $19.99.
A-Painter
A-Painter is Mozilla’s response to Tilt Brush. Created by the Mozilla VR Team, it is a web based application that does not require any software installation to use.
In fact, anybody can hop onto the site and start exploring A-Painter right away. However, if you are looking to create, a headset and VR compatible browser is required. For more information on setting up your browser for VR, check out the information here.
A-Painter starts with 30 brushes. But one of the coolest features the program has to offer is the ability to create custom brushes along with other tools and features. A-Painter is open source, which means anybody can contribute the code that makes the program run. Don’t see a feature you’re looking for? Create it!
Some other features in A-Painter include the ability to import photos and OBJ files, a mini-game to show off the open source potential, and an art and developer showcase.
A-Painter by Mozilla is available on the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift for the unbeatable price of FREE.
Oculus Medium
Oculus Medium is a perfect tool for any character designer. This Oculus exclusive is a creative application with a large focus on 3D modeling and design.
300 premade stamps help users to get base models going. Some of these stamps include anatomy bases, letters, numbers, and various shapes. Use these base models to then create whatever you can imagine.
Another interesting feature is Medium’s ability to connect people within the app in real time. Artists can invite their friends to connect to their VR Space and collaborate on work together.
Medium is still a pretty new piece of software, and there are many features that have yet to be added. However, with an active community and many forums and guides, the future looks promising for this creative application.
Medium by Oculus is available exclusively on the Oculus Rift for $29.99 or for free with the purchase of Oculus Touch (Hand Controllers).
Quill
Perhaps one of the most unique creative tools out there is Quill by Story Studio. Quill is a painting tool for the Oculus that allows artists to create expressive and one of a kind artistic styles and aesthetics.
It is built with traditional works in mind, and includes tools that simulate watercolor, pencil, oil painting, and more. Brush strokes are orientation aware, which allows for very precise movements. The software can also respond to the sensitivity of a uses touch pressure, allowing for full artistic freedom.
Creations made in Quill can easily be exported as high resolution screenshots, 360 photos and videos, and animated GIFs. And with a revolutionary layering system, artists can include objects such as reference images and sound files to enhance their experience.
Quill has been highly acclaimed for its effectiveness for storytelling. Many artists use quill to create works such as comics and short films. Like many other creative tools out there, Quill features a gallery where you can take a look at some of these works.
Writer and director Saschka Unseld and art director Wesley Allsbrook used Quill to create a short film called Dear Angelica. The film is a beautiful example of storytelling through art, and I highly recommend you check it out in your spare time.
Dear Angelica is considered to be the first short film created entirely in virtual reality, making it a huge milestone for the future of film-making.
In short, Quill is definitely one of the most beautiful creative tools out there. Through it’s intuitive features, it is an amazing example of storytelling through art. I personally cannot wait to see what is created with Quill in the future.
Quill by Story Studio is available exclusively on the Oculus Rift for $29.99 or for free with the purchase of Oculus Touch (Hand Controllers).
PaintLab
PaintLab is a great tool for those just getting started within the creative VR world. It was created by LAB4242, a company that develops virtual reality applications for themselves and other businesses.
PaintLab can be used for both drawing and sculpting 3D models. Objects you create can be easily manipulated and scaled, allowing for a great degree of freedom. The software is not performance heavy, which makes it ideal and simple to stream your creations live on platforms like Twitch and PicartoTV.
Some Other features of PaintLab include:
- Photo sharing capabilities
- Day and Night mode customization
- Spray Painting feature: Draw graffiti on the classic Volkswagen van
- Walk and interact with your work at virtually any angle.
- A high resolution canvas painting feature
While PaintLab is fairly basic when it comes to creative tools, it a great choice for beginners who are learning the ropes of VR. Best of all, PaintLab is FREE on Steam, making it a great application to learn without investing any money into expensive tools.
Overall, PaintLab is an engaging, and promising creative tool for beginners, and we can’t wait to see what LAB4242 has in store for the future.
PaintLab by LAB4242 is currently available for the HTC Vive for free on Steam.
ShapeLab
ShapeLab is a 3D modeling program designed exclusively for virtual reality. Users can let their imaginations run wild as they sculpt and paint 3D models in an easy to learn environment.
Leopoly, the company behind ShapeLab has a simple but ambitious goal:
“To empower non-professionals to be 3D creators and artists in minutes, in Virtual Reality.”
Leopoly has also stated:
“We believe that creation in a VR environment is more intuitive, a lot more fun and engaging and allows people to tap into creativity they’ve never used.”
Some of ShapeLab’s core features include:
- The ability to edit pre-made templates or start entirely from scratch.
- 7 sculpting tools, with more on the way
- Import and Export STL and OBJ files to 3D print your work
- Sharing capabilities.
Leopoly is continuously working on and improving ShapeLab. Using Steam’s early access platform, they are listening closely to users and constantly implementing new features.
Some features to look out for are:
- Spectator mode, perfect for live-streams on Twitch and PicartoTV
- A Co-op mode, work on creations with your friends in real time
- New design tools
- Screenshot capability
- Online communication
ShapeLab can aid in a variety of real world applications, such as App and Game Development, Conceptual Design, 3D printing, and more. And with a strong focus on customer feedback, ShapeLab may soon be one of the biggest 3D modeling programs out there.
ShapeLab by Leopoly is available for the HTC Vive for $9.99. You can purchase on Steam or Viveport.
Conclusion
There are so many creative tools out there for virtual reality, that it’s nearly impossible to address them all. Do you know about a killer creative app that we didn’t talk about? Let us know.
As virtual reality develops, so does the creative industry. Join us in following these exciting and fast-growing industries.
