Virtual Reality for Artists - The CreativeMindClass Blog
Virtual Reality artist, Collin Leix, talks about her evolution as a creative artist, from creating oil paintings to discovering the possibilities of VR art.
"Before I started my journey as a VR artist, I started as an oil painter with a focus on portraits. Over the years this evolved when I began to become more intrigued by the ideas behind the process of MAKING.
The development of an artist, beginning with music, moving through classical art, to creating Metaverse
I'm a violinist, and I got really interested in graphic musical scores; diverse ways to perceive drawings as musical direction. Additionally, I realized that I suffer from synaesthesia, which is a neurologic condition that causes a blending of different senses - in my case, numbers, and colors. It also led me to experiment more in the way I created an image."
"In 2009 I began my Master's program in Fine Arts at the University of Michigan, where students were encouraged to play a lot. I started as a painter , and then finished with my thesis, which was a huge installation on the ceiling with animated images that were projected on the. My first animations that I worked using were basic stop-motion images with paper and paint, and the environment as the topic. It was so demanding as a technique that I decided to explore it further.
After finishing my master's degree In 2012, I went to a local community college to take a course on After Effects as well, and since then have mostly self-taught. I jumped into art apps, Cinema4D, and have played with cel, however I have concentrated on After Effects. I made direct-to-client animations for a few years and ensured that I always did my own creative experiments in animation and put them online.
"I suffered from major health issues and had a spell of depression. It frequently left me on my floor, surrounded by my dog. So this was my view. I challenged myself to create every week a new thing, even if it was really short in order to meet myself exactly where I was.
In 2018 , I was employed by the animation studio Gunner located in Detroit I have worked there since!"
How would you describe your style of art?
"Realism remains a staple in my heart , even from my early years. Since then, my style includes a touch of surrealism as well as humour, and I'm forever studying the ways color communicates mood.
My style has absolutely evolved as well since joining the team at Gunner. We are often working as a team to support various styles. As a result, I get to 'try out different styles that aren't mine individual styles. A few ways to use free brushwork, outline or reducing elements of design are instances of things I've experimented with and continued to do afterward. The example of this is 'Crocus' is a mixture of painting texture over 3D forms, both with realism and simple designs, employing VR modeling and good old Photoshop paint."
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"One reason I love working in the studio is because the lines that define me my style' and'me' have been blurred. Take the video called "Interruption," for instance. I was asked to create an Instagram video for Gunner as I began to explore. I decided to employ the surrealism of my work to convey what it's like to be in the flow of playing music and also the images you can see through your mind's eyes and what it is like to feel interrupted.
When I worked on the animation, and a lot of the designwork, my fantastic co-worker Ian Sigmon pushed me a lot in design of the characters. I wouldn't have got to those crazy long arms and simplified body shapes all by myself. Then we realized that women's bodies can dissolve back into the shape when she is ready to play."
"I have a memory of losing in a high-school art contest due to my work because it didn't seem to be cohesive or in the same style. I thought this was the curse of my life, however it has turned out be a blessing for the work I do now."
What is the key to creating your illustration?
"For me, it's always comes back to my gut. It's always a little bit of intrigue at the beginning of each new piece - Sometimes it's just a color combo I want to try out or maybe it's an expression, or quote, or even a short narrative.
Something that marks my artwork is that I'm always trying out new mediums. In the present, I'm fascinated by drawing and painting in Virtual Reality. We're also making a short film on Gunner which covers the entire gamut of painterly cel in Photoshop and 3D rendering to creating sculpts within VR and then projecting an image onto the sculpt. We've added a scene from the film, called Sync for a sneak preview. This is Gunner's debut film that was directed by a woman. the story revolves around three strangers traveling on an airplane and something unexpected occurs to them on the journey.
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What advice would you give to someone who starts out with VR art?
"When trying to make sense of any new technology that I am interested in, I have always in mind a small image or narrative of the changes I'd like to make before I begin. It's probably a suggestion I have for anyone looking to broaden their skills - make the style frame or create an idea of a sketch or story you're planning to write before incorporating the latest tech. You'll have a reason or a "why". In other words, you're just cruising around tutorials, taking on the styles of other artists and telling stories.
This is a work we created to kick off the conference Blend at Gunner in 2019 In which I designed and sculpted many of the environment elements using Virtual Reality. I'd tried sculpting some time ago before, but once I knew the proper 'why' my exploration and abilities grew exponentially. Below is a video tour of the landscapes I designed."
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"I'm very engaged on Instagram and I've also created an instructional class to recreate your illustrations using 3D space, with Tilt Brush. There is no requirement to be a VR artist yet However, you need to possess a VR headset attend the class. I guide people through the process from there. The love I pour into this!"
