Virtual Reality for Artists The CreativeMindClass Blog

Virtual Reality artist, Collin Leix, talks about her creative evolution; beginning with oil-based paintings, she is now investigating the depths of VR art.

"Before I started my journey as a VR artist, started out as an oil artist, with a focus on portraits. Over the years this evolved because I was more intrigued by the ideas behind the process of MAKING.

The development of an artist, from music, through classic artto the creation of Metaverse

I'm a violinist and I got really interested in musical score illustrations; diverse ways to perceive the drawings to be musical guidance. Additionally, I realized that I suffer from synaesthesia, a condition in the brain which causes a blend of various senses, in my instance, numbers and colors. The experience caused me to play about how I would create an image."

"In 2009, I began a Master's course that focused on Fine Arts at the University of Michigan, where students were encouraged to play with a variety of techniques. I started as a painter , and then finished with a thesis project that was a huge installation on the ceiling that had animations projected onto the ceiling. My first animations that I worked with were rudimentary stop-motion animations with paper and paint, with the landscape as a subject matter. The work was so difficult as a medium I knew I wanted to explore it further.

After my Master's In 2012, I went to an area community college to learn about After Effects which I have since then have learned a lot on my own. I began exploring apps for art, Cinema4D, and have attempted a few cel too, but have focused mainly on After Effects. I developed animations directly-to-client for several years, and was careful to create my own creative experiments in animation, and then put them on the internet.

"I had an enormous health issue and was suffering from a bout of depression, which frequently left me on my floor, surrounded by my pet. That was what I thought. I challenged myself to create something once a week regardless of whether it wasn't a lot so that I could meet my goals of exactly where I was.

In 2018 I was hired by the animation studio Gunner in Detroit, and have been there since!"

What is your style of art?

"Realism remains a staple in my heart from my early years. My style has evolved since then. includes a touch of surrealism and playfulness, and I'm forever studying the ways color communicates mood.

My style has absolutely evolved as well since joining Gunner. Gunner. The Gunner team is often working together in a group to help support different styles, so I have the opportunity to experiment with' styles that aren't my individual styles. Some ways of using free brushwork, outline and reducing design elements are some examples of the things I've attempted and continued to do afterward. As an example, the work "Crocus" is an amalgamation of painting textures over three-dimensional forms. Both with realism and simple forms, using VR sculpture and good old Photoshop drawing."

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"One reason why I enjoy working in the studio is that the boundaries that define me as well as my personal style have been blurred. Take the video called "Interruption," for instance. I was approached to write an Instagram video for Gunner at the time I started. I decided to employ the surrealism of my work to show what it feels as being immersed in playing music, and what might be visible through your mind's eyes - and then the feeling of being interrupted.

Although I was the one who did animation and much of the designwork, my wonderful co-worker Ian Sigmon pushed me a LOT in the design of the characters. We wouldn't have gotten to those crazy long arms and simplified body shapes all by myself. This led us to realize that women's bodies could disintegrate back into its shape when she is ready playing again."

"I remember losing a high-school art competition because my artworks weren't all that cohesive or in the same style. I was convinced that this was a curse however, it turned out to be a blessing for what I'm doing now."

What is the key to making your illustrations?

"For me, it always has to come from a gut-feel. It's always a little bit of interest at the beginning of every new work - sometimes it's a color combination I want to try out or maybe it's the gesture of a reference, or perhaps a tale.

One thing that distinguishes my work is that I'm always trying out different mediums. At the moment, I'm in love with drawing and painting in Virtual Reality. We're also working on the film below on Gunner that runs the gamut of painterly cel in Photoshop as well as 3D rendering to creating sculpts within VR, then projecting an image onto the sculpt. I've included a shot from the film, which is called Sync for an early preview. The film is the first directed by Gunner by a woman, and it's about three strangers on an aircraft and an unexpected event which happens during the flight.

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What would you advise those who are just starting out in VR art?

"When approaching any new tech, I always have a little image or a story of what I want to make before I begin. It's probably a suggestion that I can offer anyone who wants to expand the capabilities of their team - create an art frame, or make an idea of a sketch or story you want to do before taking in the latest technology. It's important to have a goal - 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 to kick off a conference called Blend at Gunner during the year 2019, in which I sculpted a lot of the environmental assets using Virtual Reality. I'd played around with the sculpting process at times before, but once I knew the right 'why', my creativity and capabilities grew rapidly. This video is a overview of the scenes I created."

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"I'm quite active in Instagram also made an instruction on how you can recreate your images 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 attend the class. I will guide you through the steps from there. I put SO MUCH LOVE into this!"