Virtual Reality for Artists The CreativeMindClass Blog
Virtual Reality artist, Collin Leix, talks about her artistic evolution, from creating oil paintings and exploring the potential in VR art.
"Before I was a VR artist, started out as an oil painter who specialized in portraits. As time passed, this changed as I became more interested in the theories behind making.
The evolution of the artist; beginning with music, then classic art, to creating Metaverse
I'm a musician and became interested in visually-based musical scores as well as the various ways of interpreting the images to provide music-related guidance. Also, I discovered I suffer from synaesthesia - a neurological condition that causes a blending of multiple senses. In my case, numbers as well as colors. All of this led me to think about ways I would design pictures."
"In 2009 I began my Master's course of Fine Arts , at the University of Michigan, where students were encouraged to play with a variety of techniques. My first assignment was as a painter , and then finished by completing a thesis that consisted of large ceiling installations with animated images that were projected on it. The first sketches I began with were basic stop-motion sketches made with paper and paint, using the natural environment as the theme. It was so demanding as a technique I knew I'd like to investigate it further.
After the conclusion of my master's thesis in 2012 I attended a local community college for an instruction course in After Effects since that time, I've been learning by myself. I began exploring artistic applications, Cinema4D, and have played with cel, however I've mainly focused upon After Effects. I created animations that were directly delivered to clients in the span of a couple of years. I ensured that I always created my own experiments in animation. They were then posted to the internet.
"I had a serious health challenge and had an episode of depression. There was a lot of times where I laid on my floor, in the company of my pet. So this was my view. I challenged myself to make something once a week regardless of whether or not it was really brief in order to get me exactly where I was.
In the year 2018 I was hired by The Animation Studio Gunner in Detroit, and have been working there ever since!"
What is the style you apply to your work?
"Realism is an important part of my soul since the beginning of my life. My style has changed over the years. There is a little more surrealism, and also a sense of laughter as I continue to study the ways color communicates mood.
My style of dressing has evolved as well since joining the team at Gunner. We are often working together to spread different styles, so I can try out' styles that aren't my personal design. Some ways of using loose brushwork, lines and the reduction of designs are couple of examples of the techniques I've tried and continued to work on in the following days. An example could be "Crocus" It is an combination of drawing 3D forms. It is both realistic and basic designs, using VR modeling and conventional Photoshop paint."
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"One reason why I enjoy working in the studio is because my lines of self-definition along with my own personal style have become blurred. For instance, take the clip 'Interruption' for example. I was asked to write an Instagram article for Gunner at the time I started. I wanted to employ the surreal in order to demonstrate what it's like get lost in the music and also the images which you are able to see through your mind's eyes and also the feeling it's like being disturbed.
When I worked in animation and the design, my wonderful co-worker Ian Sigmon pushed me a A LOT when it came to the creation of the characters. We wouldn't have gotten to the wacky arms and simple bodies without Ian Sigmon's help. This led us to realize the possibility of women's bodies slipping to form when they are in the mood to play."
"I recall losing an high school art competition due to my work because it did not seem to be cohesive or had the same aesthetic. I believed that was the curse of my own life, however, it's been an opportunity to improve my art."
What's the secret to creating your illustration?
"For me, all of it is a feeling that I get from my gut. It's always an element of curiosity at the start of every new work Sometimes, it's just an interesting color scheme I'd like to try out, sometimes it starts with the movement of a quote or even a brief tale.
The thing that makes my art distinctive is the fact that I'm always trying new techniques. In the present, I'm fascinated by painting as well as drawing in Virtual Reality. We're currently working on a movie below on Gunner which covers the entire spectrum of creating a cel in Photoshop as well as 3D rendering and create sculpts using VR which then projects artwork onto the sculpt. We've added a scene in the film called Sync for you to get the first glimpse. The film is the debut of Gunner with a director who is a woman, and it's about three strangers who travel in a plane, and then something surprising that happens to them during the journey.
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What would you recommend for someone just starting out with VR artwork?
"When exploring any new technology that I am interested in I keep in mind a small image or idea of what I would like to make prior to implementing it. This is a hint that I have for anyone wanting to broaden their skill set Make an art frame, or make an idea of sketches or a story that you want to do before adopting the most recent technology. You'll have a goal or "why". That is, it's just an exercise in cruising through tutorials and re-creating the styles of others and their stories.
The work was designed for an event called Blend at Gunner during the year 2019 In which I designed and sculpted a variety of the elements that are natural in Virtual Reality. I'd been playing with the sculpting process a little time before, but after I understood the 'why' my creativity and abilities grew exponentially. Below is a tour of the landscapes I designed."
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"I'm very busy on Instagram too. I also developed an instruction for how to recreate your images using 3D space using Tilt Brush. The course doesn't need that you become a VR artist, but you'll need an VR headset in order to attend the class, but I'll walk you through the process from there. It was a lot of passion that went in to this!"
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