Open Brush and its toolkit for exporting virtual reality art
Artistic creation in virtual reality finds in Open Brush a fundamental tool. As the open-source successor to Tilt Brush, it allows sculpting in an immersive 3D space. However, the true power to share these creations lies in the Tilt Brush Toolkit, a set of utilities designed to process and export works beyond the headset. 🎨
Transforming immersive brush strokes into 3D assets
The toolkit acts as an essential bridge. Its main function is to take the native .tilt files generated in Open Brush and convert them into universal 3D formats like .fbx or .gltf/glb. This conversion process reconstructs each stroke or brush mark, either as a polygonal mesh or as vector lines, preparing them for use in any digital pipeline.
Key advantages of exporting:- Integrate VR art into game engines like Unity or Unreal Engine.
- Publish interactive experiences directly in a web browser.
- Preserve the dynamic and organic essence of work done in an immersive space.
The toolkit turns the ephemeral VR experience into a tangible and reusable 3D asset.
A technical and accessible workflow
To use the toolkit, artists typically work with command-line tools or scripts. This approach allows granular control over the final result. Users can adjust various parameters to optimize the generated models, such as controlling the level of detail of the meshes or separating brush strokes by layers for better organization.
Aspects to consider in the process:- Some familiarity with the process of exporting 3D assets and development pipelines is required.
- The official documentation guides to achieve functional and quality results.
- Very complex scenes, with millions of brush strokes, may demand considerable processing time from the system.
Expanding the reach of immersive art
The ecosystem formed by Open Brush and its toolkit democratizes access to VR art. It is no longer confined to a specific device; now it can live in video games, websites, or animation projects. This technical exporting process ensures that the magic and spontaneity of creating in three dimensions with your own hands can be shared with a global audience. 🌐