Virtual Reality for Artists - The CreativeMindClass Blog
Virtual Reality artist, Collin Leix, talks about her artistic evolution, from creating oil paintings to discovering the depths of VR art.
"Before I was a VR artist, I began as an oil painter focusing on portraits. In the course of time, this changed when I began to become more interested in the concepts that go into making.
The development of an artist, starting with music, then classic artwork, and finally to creating the Metaverse
I'm a violinist and became interested in musical score illustrations; different ways to interpret drawings as musical direction. Additionally, I realized that I suffer from synaesthesia - a neurological condition that causes a blending of various senses, in my instance, numbers and even colors. The experience inspired me to play around about how I would create an image."
"In 2009 I started a Master's course in Fine Arts at the University of Michigan, where students were encouraged to play with a variety of techniques. I began as a painter and finished with a thesis project that was a huge installation on the ceiling with animated images that were projected on the ceiling. The animations I started out using were basic stop-motion images made with paint and paper with the landscape as a topic. The animation was so positively difficult as a medium I was certain that I would want to pursue it.
After finishing my master's degree In 2012, I attended a local community college to take a course on After Effects which I have since then have been pretty much self-taught. I began exploring apps for art, Cinema4D, and have tried a bit of cel, however I have concentrated on After Effects. I developed animations directly-to-client for a few years and ensured that I always did my own creative experiments in animation. I then uploaded them to the web.
"I was dealing with major health issues and had a spell of depression. It was often a time when I lay on the ground with my dog. So this was my view. I challenged myself to make every week a new thing regardless of whether it wasn't a lot in order to meet myself exactly where I was.
In 2018 I was hired at the studio of animation Gunner in Detroit I have been there since!"
What is your style of art?
"Realism remains a staple in my heart from my early days. My style has evolved since then. is a little more surrealist as well as humour as I continue to study how color can communicate mood.
My fashion style has changed also since I joined the team at Gunner. It is common for us to work in a group to help support diverse styles. This means that I am able to try out different styles that aren't mine personal style. A few ways to use loose brushwork, lines and reducing designs are a few examples of what I've tried and kept doing afterward. The example of this is "Crocus" is an amalgamation of painting textures over 3D forms, both using realism as well as simple shapes, using VR modeling as well as good old Photoshop paint."
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"One reason why I enjoy working at Studio A is because the lines that define me' and 'my style' have blurred. Consider the film "Interruption," for instance. I was invited to make an Instagram video to Gunner when I first started. I was looking to incorporate the surrealism of my work to illustrate what it's to be immersed in playing music, as well as what might be visible through your mind's eyes and what it is like to feel interrupted.
When I worked on the animating and most of the designwork, my amazing coworker Ian Sigmon pushed me a LOT in the character design. I wouldn't have got to these crazy, long arms and streamlined body forms all by myself. Then we realized that women's bodies could disintegrate back into its shapes when she begins to play again."
"I have a memory of losing in a high-school art contest due to my work because it were not all cohesive, or had the same aesthetic. I thought this was a curse however, it turned out to prove to be a blessing given my current work."
What's the secret to creating your illustration?
"For me, it's always comes down to a gut feeling. There's always an element of interest at the beginning of any new piece. Sometimes it's just a color combo I'd like to explore Sometimes it's the gesture of a reference, or perhaps a story.
One thing that distinguishes my work is the fact that I'm constantly trying new mediums. Right now, I'm so fascinated by painting and drawing in Virtual Reality. We're also making an animated short at Gunner which covers the entire gamut of painterly cel in Photoshop, to 3D rendering to creating sculpts using VR before displaying an image onto the sculpture. We've added a scene of the film, titled Sync for an early preview. The film is the first directed by Gunner by a woman. it's about three strangers on an aircraft and an unexpected event which happens during the flight.
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What advice would you give to someone who starts out with VR art?
"When looking at any technology that is new, I always have a little image or a story of what I want to do before I begin. This is a hint that I can offer anyone looking to broaden their skills - make an art frame, or make a little sketch or story you're planning to write before folding in the new technology. It's important to have a goal or a "why". If not, you'll be flitting around tutorials, taking on the styles of other artists and telling stories.
Here's a piece we made for the conference Blend at Gunner during 2019 where I created several of the natural objects using Virtual Reality. I'd tried sculpting at times, but when I had the proper 'why' my creativity and capabilities grew exponentially. Below is a video overview of the scenes I made."
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"I'm pretty active in Instagram and I've also created an instruction on how to create your own illustrations using 3D space Tilt Brush. You don't have to have a degree in VR art yet however, you must have a VR headset to participate in the course, however I guide people through the process. The love I pour in this!"
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