Oculus Medium’s creator Brian Sharp explains how sculpting in virtual reality could shape the future of CG art.
With the launch of the Oculus Touch controllers in December 2016 came a unique, new in-VR sculpting software called Medium. This is not a gimmick, but a fully formed sculpting software aimed at offering artists the tools to create concept sculpts in a virtual space.
Developed over the course of two and half years by Brian Sharp and small team of initially four, with a further 10-15 artists and programers coming on board in the last six months, Medium could be the next essential CG art tool.
“My background is in video games and a lot of my work in games was creating tools for the artists – it’s what I did at Bungie for five years before I came to Oculus,” says Brian, who says he would observe artists using VR headsets, and then jiggle the windows on their monitors back and forth to try to get an idea of the shape of the model being worked on. He then struck on the idea for Medium. “In these headsets you can look around and you get a sense of the model, and I thought this was going to be a big thing, and would be perfect for modelling. People told me I was crazy. I pitched it to Oculus and they convinced me to be part of the company and have been super-generous with resources. We’re pretty psyched to be able to ship it finally.”
The future of scuplting
Oculus Medium enables you to sculpt directly in virtual reality, because, as Brian explains: “You can make content in VR that works anywhere, but it’s hard to make content on a monitor that works well in VR; it’s difficult work.”
This story is from the February 2017 edition of 3D World UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 2017 edition of 3D World UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Scanning the stars
Matthew McMillion discovers why artist Kazu Hiro turns to 3D scanners when creating special effects makeup for Hollywood's A-listers
FOR 10 MODO 17.0
How to get the most from Foundry's updated 3D package
THE ART OF Surajit Sen
The digital sculptor speaks to Cesci Angell about his thought processes, work on major Indian films, and having a 3D obsession
REBELS WITH A CAUSE
Trevor Hogg embarks on a galactic journey to uncover the secrets behind Rebel Moon: Part One - A Child of Fire NEXT
EASILY ADD DECALS AND GRAFFITI TO OBJECTS
Bring extra life to your scenes as Editor Rob Redman shows you how to create realistic visuals for objects in Cinema 4D
SOUTH WALES DREAMERS
3D World catches up with Emlyn Davies and Mark Procter of Wales-based animation studio Bomper on its 10th anniversary
MODEL THE PERFECT CHARACTER FOR A DELICATE SCENE
Discover how Prashan Subasinghe builds up the narrative in his shot with a gentle lioness
Wacom One 13 Touch
With accessibility and sustainability in mind, Wacom has been busy devising a new range of pen displays that are offering some great features for less. The Wacom One 13 Touch pen display has a lot to offer, especially for aspiring artists, with the high quality display that you would expect from Wacom, a smooth and intuitive drawing experience, and the addition of multi-touch capabilities.
PistonBuds PRO Q30
Gigantic over-ear headphones are no longer the necessity they once were to achieve a satisfactory level of noise cancellation, as increasingly more in-ear alternatives are now becoming available. The PistonBuds PRO Q30s are a fabulous example of this, as they offer users exceptional noise-cancelling capabilities while managing to deliver high-quality sound.
Raising The Lazarus Project
The Vine FX team tell us about their work delivering shots for season two of the sci-fi thriller