Virtual Reality for Artists The CreativeMindClass Blog

Virtual Reality artist, Collin Leix, talks about her artistic evolution, From oil painting to discovering the depths of VR art.

"Before I started my journey as a VR artist, started out as an oil painter with a focus on portraits. As time passed, my style evolved when I began to become more intrigued by the ideas behind the process of MAKING.

The artist evolution; starting with music, then classic artwork, and finally to creating the Metaverse

I'm a violinist and was astonished to discover my interest in musical score illustrations; diverse ways to perceive the drawings to be musical guidance. Also, I discovered that I have synaesthesia, which is a neurologic condition which causes a blend of various senses, in my case, numbers, as well as colors. It also led me to experiment more with how I approached creating images."

"In 2009 I began my Master's course that focused on Fine Arts at the University of Michigan, where students were encouraged to explore extensively. I began as a painter , and then finished by completing a thesis that was a huge installation on the ceiling with animated images that were projected on the ceiling. The animations I started out using were basic stop-motion images made with paint and paper using the natural landscape as a theme. The animation was so positively challenging as a medium that I decided to continue to work on it.

After finishing my master's degree at the end of 2012, I enrolled in a local community college to learn about After Effects, and since then , I've mostly self-taught. I began exploring apps for art, Cinema4D, and have played with cel too, but have concentrated upon After Effects. I developed animations directly-to-client over the course of a couple of years. I made sure to always do my own creative experiments in animation, and then put them on the internet.

"I had major health issues and had a spell of depression. It frequently left me on my floor, surrounded by my dog. This was how I saw it. I challenged myself to create something once a week regardless of whether it wasn't a lot in order to meet myself where I REALLY was.

In the year 2018 I was hired by the animation studio Gunner in Detroit I have worked there since!"

What would you say about the style you use in your work?

"Realism is a constant within my heart since my early days. Since then, my style is a little more surrealist and playfulness which is why I'm always studying how color can communicate mood.

My fashion style has changed as well since joining the team at Gunner. It is common for us to work as a team to support various styles. As a result, I have the opportunity to experiment with' styles that aren't my personal style. A few ways to use loose brushwork, lines, or simplifying elements of design are instances of things I've experimented with and then continued doing. For example, the piece "Crocus" is an amalgamation of painting texture over 3D forms, both using realism as well as simple shapes, using VR sculpture along with traditional Photoshop paint."

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"One reason I love working at the studio is because the edges that define 'me as well as my personal style are blurred. For instance, take the clip "Interruption" for instance. I was asked to create an Instagram video to Gunner when I first started. I wanted to use a bit of surrealism to convey what it's to be immersed in playing music, and what might be visible through your mind's eyes as well as what it is like to feel interrupted.

Although I was the one who did the animation, and a lot of the design, my amazing coworker Ian Sigmon pushed me a LOT in the design of the characters. I wouldn't have got to those crazy long arms and streamlined body forms on my own. This led us to realize that women's bodies could dissolve back into the shapes when she begins playing again."

"I remember losing a high-school art contest due to my work because it weren't all that cohesive or in the same style. I believed that was the curse of my life, but it's turned out to prove to be a blessing given my current work."

What is the key to making your illustrations?

"For me, it's always has to come back to my gut. It's always a little bit of intrigue at the beginning of every new work - often it's a new color scheme I'd like to test Sometimes it's the gesture of a reference, or perhaps a narrative.

Something that marks my artwork is the fact that I'm always exploring new mediums. At the moment, I'm in love with painting and drawing in Virtual Reality. We're also making an animated short on Gunner that covers everything from of painterly cel in Photoshop, to 3D rendering and sculpting within VR, then projecting an image onto the sculpture. I've included a shot from the film, called Sync, as a sneak preview. This is Gunner's debut film that was directed by a woman, and it's about three strangers on the plane and something surprising that happens to them during the flight.

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What advice would you give to those who are just starting out in VR art?

"When trying to make sense of any new technology, I always have a little image or a idea of what I would like to create prior to implementing it. I guess that's a tip I have for those who want to increase the capabilities of their team - create a style frame or have some sketchy or narrative you want to do before folding in the new technology. It's important to have a goal - a 'why'. Otherwise, you're just flopping through tutorials and taking inspiration from different styles and narratives of others.

We created this piece to kick off an event called Blend at Gunner during the year 2019 where I created many of the environment assets in Virtual Reality. I had played with sculpting a little bit before, but once I knew an answer to the question of "why" my creativity and capabilities grew dramatically. This video is a overview of the scenes I made."

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"I'm pretty active on Instagram also made an instruction on how to create your own illustrations using 3D space Tilt Brush. It doesn't require you to be a VR artist yet However, you need to have a VR headset to participate in the course, however I will guide you through the process. The love I pour to this!"