Virtual Reality for Artists The CreativeMindClass Blog
Virtual Reality artist Collin Leix, talks about her artistic evolution, from creating oil paintings to exploring the depths of VR art.
"Before I became a VR artist, began as an oil artist, focused on portraits. In the course of time, this changed because I was more interested in the theories behind the process of MAKING.
The artist evolution; from music, through classic artwork, and finally to creating the Metaverse
I'm a violinist, and was astonished to discover my interest in graphic musical scores; different ways to interpret illustrations as musical directions. Additionally, I realized that I suffer from synaesthesia, a condition in the brain which causes a blend of various senses, in my case, numbers, and colors. The experience inspired me to play around about how I would create images."
"In 2009, I began a Master's program in Fine Arts at the University of Michigan, where students were encouraged to play with a variety of techniques. My first assignment was with painting and ended with my thesis, which included a massive installation that was placed on the ceiling that had animations projected on it. My first animations that I worked with were simple stop-motion drawings using paint and paper, with the landscape as a topic. The animation was so positively demanding as a technique that I decided to continue to work on it.
After my Master's at the end of 2012, I enrolled in a local community college to learn about After Effects which I have since then , I've mostly self-taught. I jumped into art apps, Cinema4D, and have played with cel too, but have was primarily focused on After Effects. I made direct-to-client animations for several years, and ensured that I always did my own artistic experiments with animation, and then put them on the internet.
"I suffered from an enormous health issue and was suffering from a bout of depression that was often a time when I lay on the ground with my dog. So this was my view. I challenged myself to create an effort every single week, even if it wasn't a lot in order to meet myself where I REALLY was.
In 2018 , I was employed by the animation studio Gunner located in Detroit I have been there since!"
What would you say about your style of art?
"Realism still has a place within my heart since the beginning of my career. In the past, my style has a bit more surrealism and a sense of fun, and I'm forever studying the ways color communicates mood.
My fashion style has changed in the time since I joined Gunner. Gunner. The Gunner team is often working together in a group to help support various styles. As a result, I am able to try out some styles that aren't necessarily my own. There are many ways to utilize loose brushwork, outlines and reducing design elements are some instances of things I've experimented with and then continued doing. As an example, the work "Crocus" is a mix of painting texture over 3D forms, both with realism and simple forms, using VR sculpture and good old Photoshop painting."
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"One reason why I enjoy working in Studio A is because the boundaries that define me' and 'my style' have been blurred. Take the video called "Interruption" for instance. I was asked to create an Instagram posting to Gunner as I began to explore. I wanted to use some surrealism in order to illustrate what it's as being in the flow of playing music and also what might be visible through your mind's eyes as well as the feeling of being interrupted.
Although I was the one who did the animating and most of the designwork, my wonderful co-worker Ian Sigmon pushed me a lot in design of the characters. I wouldn't have got to the crazy arms or the simplified shapes of body on my own. We came to the conclusion that the woman's body can disappear into shapes when she begins to play again."
"I remember losing a high-school art competition because my artworks weren't all that cohesive or all the same style. I believed that was a curse however it has turned out be a blessing in my current work."
What is the key to making your illustrations?
"For me, it's always must boil from a gut-feel. It's always a little bit of interest at the beginning of every new work - often it's a new color scheme I'd like to test Sometimes it's an expression, or quotation, or a little narrative.
One thing that distinguishes my work is that I'm always trying out various new media. At the moment, I'm fascinated by drawing and painting in Virtual Reality. The team is also creating the film below at Gunner that runs the gamut of painterly cell in Photoshop, to 3D rendering to creating sculpts using VR and then projecting an image onto the sculpture. Here's a clip from the film, which is called Sync, as an early preview. This is Gunner's debut film that was directed by a woman, and it's about three strangers who travel on an airplane and something unexpected occurs to them on the flight.
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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 an image or story of what I want to do prior to implementing it. This is a hint that I can offer anyone looking to broaden their skills - make the style frame or create some sketchy or narrative you're planning to write before folding in the new technology. You'll have a reason or a "why". In other words, you're just cruising around tutorials, taking on different styles and narratives of others.
We created this piece for the conference Blend at Gunner during the year 2019 In which I designed and sculpted many of the environment elements within Virtual Reality. I'd played around with the sculpting process some time ago before, but once I knew the right 'why', my creativity and capabilities grew exponentially. Here's a video that's a overview of the scenes I created."
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"I'm very busy with my Instagram account. Instagram and I've also created a class on how to recreate your illustrations in 3D space with Tilt Brush. It doesn't require you 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 to this!"
