Fire Giant head
45 minutes working time
The Good - I found Tilt Brush, and the Vive for that matter very intuitive. I put it on and it all made sense and I was working immediately. I felt really no learning curve and everything felt more or less natural. Tilt Brush is a good proof of concept application. It has enough to get you going and just enough to keep it interesting for an extended amount of time. It is still very much a toy version of a painting / art interface but it is robust enough to have fun with and to get a taste of what could be just around the corner as far as VR technology for artists is involved. I was able to quickly and easily (after looking it up on... Google) export stills and gifs from what I was working on. There are two options for exported gifs, a five second free form capture and a auto generated rocking motion. There is also the option to export the file as a 3D model of some sort, but I have not looked into this.
The Bad - The more I experimented with Tilt Brush the more I realized how much was lacking and how little control you have over your environment. Once you start working you can not move your creation in space. You can move where you are standing in comparison, but you have no control over movement on the y axis. Likewise, you can not manipulate, sculpt, or warp your creation. If the eyes are too close together... they are just too close together, unless you want to erase them and start over. I would also like to see 3D brushes. There is no way to create any real volumes currently. I mostly used the oil brush and it was GREAT, but you, for a better analogy, are dragging paint over the surface of an invisible surface when working. There is also no way to move the light source. BUT, this is a test of concept application and it is a really slick piece of programming. There are just a bunch of features I have grown accustomed to in this type of application and I am sure they will be added in time.
The Ugly - This might have to do more with our current set up and the limited area we can currently devote to the Vive, but there were one or two dead spots and warp spot in the room that made working with Tilt Brush rather challenging. If I stood in just the wrong spot my view would dance around and my control would appear to fly away from me. Like I said, this is most likely more of a setup / Vive issue, but it was a hiccup during usage. The interface tools were sometimes not the easiest to read. I sometimes did not realize I had the mirror tool on or off until it was a little too late. Another pass on UI design will most likely smooth out any issues.
Overall I am really impressed with the Vive and Tilt Brush, but I am just not sure what to do with it yet. It just still feels like a really expensive toy. Many things we use everyday start this way, so it will be interesting to see where the new wave of VR technology takes us.
Monster #1 - 15 minutes
We had to sign up for blocks of 15 minutes when the Vive was first set up so that everybody had a chance to use it. For my first 15 minutes I got situated using the equipment and quickly knocked out a large nose horn dragon thing...
Dragon thing head
15 minutes working time
When I started working I was very much relying on lines. I more or less drew a dark lined wire frame in space and then filled it in with some color. It was quick and dirty and I got a feel for the equipment and program. Afterwards I thought a lot about how best to approach the program on a second attempt.
Dragon thing head
15 minutes working time
Monster #2 - 45 minutes
On my second time with Tilt Brush I did not have any real time restraints and I had something in mind going in. I wanted to paint a large giant face and to try to create better forms and stay away from lines. This time around I also experiments more with all the different brush options. Many of the brushes are just a little to gimmicky to be practical or are very specialized particle effects, but there are plenty of brush options that are good to work with.
Fire Giant head
45 minutes working time
Fire Giant head
45 minutes working time
Monster #3 - 60 minutes
Going into my most recent session with Tilt Brush I wanted to reprise my first creation and approach it fresh and with more time. With what I learned on the Fire Giant I figured I could pull off a better dragon this time around...
Blue Dragon head
60 minutes working time
With the exception of the top of the nose horn I am happy with how this turned out. I had a lot of fun with the particle and effects brushes to make the fire and it seemed actually relevant to use them in this situation. I used the wire brush on this piece which seems to be the closest thing to a 3D brush as you can get currently in Tilt Brush. It does not get very large but you can made a mark that had some volume to it.
Blue Dragon head
60 minutes working time
As expected, the more I worked with Tilt Brush the I felt I was getting out of the program what I wanted to. I found ways to add in the details and visual clutter that I like and was able to make a more complex objects. This was the most robust use of VR that I have had the chance to use and I am very glad to have had the opportunity to get my hands on it. I will definitely need to spend more time with it. I look forward to see what Tilt Brush and Vive have to offer!
That is all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog, see you back here on Friday! Until then...
For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com
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