Virtual Reality for Artists CreativeMindClass Blog - The CreativeMindClass Blog
Virtual Reality artist, Collin Leix, talks about her artistic evolution, from creating oil paintings to exploring the intricacies of VR art.
"Before I was a VR artist, I started as an oil painter, focusing on portraits. Over the years this evolved as I became more interested in the theories behind the process of MAKING.
The evolution of the artist; from music, through classic art, to creating Metaverse
I'm a musician, and was astonished to discover my interest in musical score illustrations; various ways of interpreting illustrations as musical directions. Additionally, I realized that I suffer from synaesthesia, a condition in the brain that results in a mix of different senses - in my case, numbers and colors. It also led me to experiment more with how I approached creating images."
"In 2009, I began a Master's course of Fine Arts at the University of Michigan, where we were encouraged to experiment extensively. I began as a painter , and then finished with a thesis project that was a huge installation on the ceiling with animated images projected onto the. The animations I started out with were simple stop-motion drawings using paint and paper, using the natural landscape as a subject matter. It was so challenging as a medium that I knew I wanted to continue to work on it.
After the completion of my master's thesis at the end of 2012, I enrolled in the local community college in order for a class on After Effects which I have since then have mostly self-taught. I began exploring apps for art, Cinema4D, and have tried a bit of cel, however I have was primarily focused on After Effects. I made direct-to-client animations for a few years and ensured that I always did my own artistic experiments with animation, and then put them on the internet.
"I had a big health challenge and had a spell of depression. It frequently left me on my floor, surrounded by my pet. That was what I thought. I challenged myself to create every week a new thing regardless of whether it wasn't a lot to be able to see myself exactly where I was.
In the year 2018 I was hired at the studio of animation Gunner in Detroit in the city of Detroit. I've worked there since!"
What is your art style?
"Realism remains a staple in my heart from my early days. In the past, my style has a bit more surrealism and playfulness, and I'm forever studying what color means to communicate mood.
My style has absolutely evolved in the time since I joined the Gunner team. Gunner. We are often working as a unit to promote diverse styles. This means that I have the opportunity to experiment with some styles that aren't necessarily my personal style. Some ways of using free brushwork, outline and reducing elements of design are examples of what I've tried and kept doing afterward. As an example, the work "Crocus" is an amalgamation of painting textures over 3D forms, both by using realistic shapes and basic shapes, using VR modeling along with traditional Photoshop painting."
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"One reason I like working at Studio A is because the boundaries that define me as well as my personal style have been blurred. For instance, take the clip "Interruption" for instance. I was approached to write an Instagram video to Gunner when I first started. I was looking to incorporate the surrealism of my work to show what it feels like to be in the flow of playing music and also the images you can see in the mind's eye as well as what it is like to feel interrupted.
When I worked on the animating and most of the designing, my wonderful co-worker Ian Sigmon pushed me a A LOT when it came to design of the characters. I wouldn't have got to the crazy arms and streamlined body forms by myself. This led us to realize that women's bodies could dissolve back into the forms when she starts playing again."
"I recall losing an high school art competition because my artworks weren't all that cohesive or all the same style. I thought this was my curse, however it has turned out be a blessing for my current work."
What is the key to creating your illustration?
"For me, it always has to come from a gut-feel. It's always a little bit of curiosity at the start of every new work - Sometimes it's just a color combo I'd like to test, sometimes it starts with the gesture of a reference, or perhaps a tale.
One thing that distinguishes my work is the fact that I'm always exploring new mediums. At the moment, I'm obsessed with drawing and painting in Virtual Reality. We're also working on a short film on Gunner that covers everything from of painterly cel in Photoshop, to 3D rendering, to sculpting within VR before displaying paintings onto the sculpt. Here's a clip from the film, called Sync to give you a sneak preview. The film is the first directed by Gunner by a woman, and it's about three strangers on an aircraft and an unexpected event occurs to them on the journey.
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What advice would you give to anyone who is just beginning with VR art?
"When trying to make sense of any new technology it is always my intention to have a little image or a story of what I want to create first. I guess that's a tip I have for anyone who wants to expand their skills - make a style frame or have an idea of a sketch or story that you'd like to tell prior to incorporating the latest tech. Then you have a purpose that you can explain a reason for. In other words, you're just cruising about tutorials, attempting to imitate different styles and narratives of others.
This is a work we created for the conference Blend at Gunner in the year 2019 where I created a lot of the environmental assets in Virtual Reality. I'd tried sculpting some time ago however, once I found an answer to the question of "why" my experimentation and skills expanded dramatically. Below is a video look at the different landscapes I designed."
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"I'm quite engaged in Instagram also made a class on how to recreate your illustrations using 3D space, with Tilt Brush. There is no requirement to already be a VR artist However, you need to possess a VR headset attend the class. I will guide you through the steps from there. It was a lot of love that I put in this!"
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