Virtual Reality for Artists The CreativeMindClass Blog

Virtual Reality artist, Collin Leix, talks about her evolution as a creative artist, beginning with oil-based paintings, she is now discovering the intricacies of VR art.

"Before I became a VR artist, began as an oil artist, with a focus on portraits. In the course of time, this changed as I became more interested in the theories behind the process of MAKING.

The development of an artist, starting with music, then classic artto the creation of Metaverse

I'm a violinist, and I got really interested in graphic musical scores; different ways to interpret the drawings to be musical guidance. Additionally, I realized that I suffer from synaesthesia, which is a neurologic condition which causes a blend of multiple senses. In my case, numbers and even colors. This all inspired me to play around with how I approached creating an image."

"In 2009, I began a Master's degree of 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 projected onto the ceiling. My first animations that I worked with were simple stop-motion drawings with paper and paint, and the environment as the topic. The work was so difficult as a medium I was certain that I would want to continue to work on it.

After my Master's at the end of 2012, I went to an area community college for a class on After Effects, and Since then I've been pretty much self-taught. I started exploring art applications, Cinema4D, and have attempted a few cel, however I have focused mainly upon After Effects. I developed animations directly-to-client for several years, and made sure to always do my own artful experiments in animation. I then uploaded them to the web.

"I had major health issues and was going through a period of depression. It frequently left me on the ground with my dog. That was what I thought. I challenged myself to make every week a new thing regardless of whether it wasn't a lot in order to meet myself the place I really was.

In 2018 I was hired from the Animation Studio Gunner in Detroit in the city of Detroit. I've worked there since!"

What would you say about your style of art?

"Realism is a constant in my heart from my early days. In the past, my style has a bit more surrealism as well as humour as I continue to study the ways color communicates mood.

My personal style has completely changed as well since joining the Gunner team. Gunner. It is common for us to work in a group to help support different styles, so I get to 'try out different styles that aren't mine personal style. Some ways of using loose brushwork, outlines, or simplifying designs are a few examples of what I've tried and continued to do afterward. As an example, the work 'Crocus' is a mixture of painting texture over 3D shapes, with realism and simple designs, employing VR modeling as well as good old Photoshop painting."

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"One reason why I enjoy working at the studio is because the lines that define me my style' and'me' have been blurred. Consider the film "Interruption" for instance. I was asked to create an Instagram posting for Gunner as I began to explore. I wanted to use the surrealism of my work to convey what it's like to be in the flow of playing music and also the images you can see in the mind's eye and the feeling of being interrupted.

While I did all the animation, and a lot of the designing, my amazing coworker Ian Sigmon pushed me a A LOT when it came to character design. I wouldn't have got to these crazy, long arms and streamlined body forms by myself. This led us to realize that women's bodies could dissolve back into the forms when she starts playing again."

"I recall losing an high school art contest due to my work because it didn't seem to be cohesive or in the same style. I believed that was a curse however, it turned out to be a blessing for the work I do now."

What's the secret to drawing your artwork?

"For me, it's always has to come down to a gut feeling. There's always a nugget of intrigue at the beginning of any new piece. often it's a new color scheme I want to try out or maybe it's a gesture, or a quote, or even a short story.

The thing that makes my art distinctive is the fact that I'm always trying out various new media. At the moment, I'm fascinated by painting and drawing in Virtual Reality. We're also working on a short film on Gunner that covers everything from of painterly cel in Photoshop and 3D rendering and sculpting using VR, then projecting paintings onto the sculpture. We've added a scene from the film, which is called Sync for an unofficial preview. This is Gunner's debut film that was directed by a woman. it's about three strangers who travel on the plane and something surprising which happens during the journey.

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What would you advise 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 create first. I guess that's a tip that I can offer anyone looking to broaden their skills - make a style frame or have an idea of a sketch or story you want to do before folding in the new technology. You'll have a reason that you can explain a reason for. Otherwise, you're just flopping about tutorials, attempting to imitate other people's styles and stories.

Here's a piece we made for an event called Blend at Gunner during the year 2019 where I created a lot of the environmental objects in Virtual Reality. I'd tried sculpting at times before, but once I knew the right 'why', my exploration and abilities grew dramatically. Below is a video look at the different landscapes I created."

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"I'm quite active on Instagram as well. I also developed a class on how to create your own illustrations using 3D space, with Tilt Brush. It doesn't require you to be a VR artist yet, but you have to possess a VR headset take the class, but I walk people through the process from there. The love I pour in this!"