Gravity sketch is a fascinating software used in VR that can bring art into 3D real life environments, similar to which projection mapping does however within an immersive virtual environment. So, using this software I can see what designs can look like within VR or create my own designs within a real life/VR environment. Even though I have not had much opportunity to experiment with this software it could be useful for making immersive art for an audience within a VR environment, this could be that the audience can walk around a 3D piece as though it was a real world art piece or I could develop the model further to make interactive elements around the piece or animate the character model slightly to make it more immersive for an audience being around the piece.
One of the ways of doing this would be making an immersive environment that the audience could almost step into once they put on the headset. I would love to attempt to use this software to create art that audiences can interact with or even attempt to see how powerful the platform can be, such as could it make whole interactive environments within an art style or that an audience could possibly walk through or is it more tailored towards just designing objects/characters?
This software is primarily used in a VR environment where you can walk around your piece and design your character to be completely 3D, but it can also be used in other technologies such as the iPad (Apple), which works similarly to art programmes but is entirely designed to make things 3D. It is a bit challenging to develop characters within the software when you are not in a VR environment since you do not have the element of seeing it in 3D right away. However, after starting to learn how to use the software's I have become aware of some of the types of art pieces that the software is capable of making if you know how to professionally use it.
Guen (2020) demonstrates that through using shapes and sketching they were able to create a whole environmental piece with this huge structure/robot that through VR would be a huge environmental piece to look at. This being just one way of creating art within the software allowed me to see just how powerful this software is when creating environmental pieces as well as 3D characters.
So, even though at this time of experimenting I did not have access to the VR version of the piece I was still able to experiment with the iPad version of the software and test out some of the positives and challenges with using this software in a non-VR environment. So, whilst experimenting with the software I also researched other concepts that other creatives have accomplished within Gravity Sketch to further understand how far I could go with this software.
Even though most of the other creatives used the software within VR I could still see what could come about when using Gravity Sketch. VR in itself is a powerful piece of technology and the concept of VR is that even though it is ‘one of the newest creative mediums, it offers a new way of interaction and narrative, and reshapes the way art is created.’ (Cai, 2023) Thus indicating that further experimentation of using VR, especially with Gravity Sketch, could contribute towards creating an immersive environment that an audience could interact and enjoy.
Gravity Sketch has been used in a range of immersive projects ranging from independent projects such as Frogist to bigger projects such as creating whole 3D characters, however this program is different to others I have looked into thus far due to having the VR element involved. This can lead to a way to create interactive immersive art and animations that an audience can connect with.
‘In spite of the fact that much in 3D animation has been technically determined, artistic innovation has also played a part, and many 3D animation and special effects companies have developed ad-hoc solutions to specific problems encountered by directors or designers that are often problems of aesthetics or style.’ (Power, 2009)
So, if you can build a character within the software, one could assume that we could add some form of an environment and maybe then use the model for a basic structure for a narrative that could be ‘embedded into the planning specification of the story, where all possible inconsistencies that can arise during the simulation are precalculated and solved using alternative plans.’ (Soares, Feijó and Furtado, 2023)
Through exploring Gravity Sketch further, I wanted to find out if it was possible to create whole scenes through just the software alone alongside 3D characters. There are many artists such as The Spatial Canvas who have created strike whole environmental scenes within VR Gravity Sketch which could immerse an audience.
Testing the software:
Thus after researching into the program ended up leading me to the idea of wanting to try it out. However, due to the fact that I do not own a headset I could not start to do this, due to this I used the knowledge of being taught the software to develop my understanding further. I did this through my previous art knowledge to have an understanding of if using this program and software would be useful for me. As I want to discover different ways to make art immersive I want to experiment with this software, as it would be one of the many ways I could create an immersive art project.
After observing and witnessing what Gravity Sketch is capable of producing I believe that I would like to experiment with this software within a VR environment to further see if I want to continue using this within the future. As I understand how the software works within a VR environment creating a project within the setting would be a striking way to create art.
Even though I did not have the technology to try this software within VR I found that there is another version on devices such as the iPad. This version of the software was frustrating and I personally found it slightly tricky to use. When I first started out it was highly different to how you would use it within VR, but I can see how you could create art within the program.
I have experimented slightly with using the iPad version. I had difficulty when formulating models and designing things due to the fact that the software is built more for VR than for iPad. However, I did give it a quick test to see what could come about using the software. Even after this I still was struggling with using this version of Gravity Sketch, I therefore started looking into how to use the software to see if this would help me develop my understanding and skills.
Once I had experimented slightly within the app I started to develop a slight better understanding of the brushes and angles, however I believe if I wanted to fully create a 3D character this would not be the software I would go to, on the iPad at least, but I do believe it is much more proficient and effective within a VR environment. Nevertheless I did do some brief experimenting and I would unquestionably have to learn more ways to use the software to develop my skills and understand how to use the app better.
Conclusion:
To sum up, I think that this is a powerful software that could create immersive pieces. Throughout experimentation I would want to try to explore how to use the software to develop my skills and therefore not find the app version as frustrating. However, I definitely would need to experiment with the program, the VR version, further to come up with more of a conclusion and see if I could make immersive pieces.
Abdallah, M., Alawieh, N. and Tabbara, A. (2023). Frogist. [online] Behance. Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/185398635/Frogist [Accessed 28 Dec. 2023].
Cai, Y. (2023). Decentralization: The Future of Virtual Visual Culture and the Evolution of Narrative in New Media Art. [online] Available at: https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/decentralization-future-virtual-visual-culture/docview/2835399109/se-2?accountid=12118 [Accessed 28 Dec. 2023].
Glenton, R. (2023). Rey’s Projects [Social Media Links]. [online] bio.link. Available at: https://bio.link/talesfromtherain [Accessed 4 Jan. 2024].
Gravity Sketch (2019). Home - Gravity Sketch. [online] Gravity Sketch. Available at: https://www.gravitysketch.com/ [Accessed 28 Dec. 2023].
Gravity Sketch (2021a). Beginner Tutorials - YouTube. [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdcetkoP2x8Q8U71Zm92zhUJLYV0k3nbH&si=l9E9T5BKSjCNJZ5G [Accessed 28 Dec. 2023].
Gravity Sketch (2021b). iPad Tutorials - YouTube. [online] www.youtube.com/@GravitySketch. Available at: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdcetkoP2x8T9vLudTYVD0D4IxBcJ77YA&si=HYnZAI3Y1OMhiupj [Accessed 28 Dec. 2023].
Guen, M. (2020). Crash - 3D Modeling in VR / Gravity Sketch (Oculus Quest). [online] www.youtube.com/@MinGuen. Available at: https://youtu.be/DTblhVo6wHY?si=RvF4LQkpZxQywdVM [Accessed 28 Dec. 2023].
Power, P. (2009). Animated Expressions: Expressive Style in 3D Computer Graphic Narrative Animation. Animation, [online] 4(2), pp.107–129. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1746847709104643.
Soares, E., Feijó, B. and Furtado, A.L. (2023). Managing the plot structure of character-based interactive narratives in games. Entertainment Computing, [online] 47, pp.100590–100590. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2023.100590.
Southern, G. (2020). Gravity Sketch vr - creating a character. [online] www.youtube.com/@SouthernGFX. Available at: https://youtu.be/iYoTAjzMcaw?si=4nofOesWur1bVYve [Accessed 28 Dec. 2023].
The Spatial Canvas (2023). Design Massive Worlds in VR With Gravity Sketch | Full Game Ready Tutorial. [online] www.youtube.com/@TheSpatialCanvas. Available at: https://youtu.be/2YZr3yqWXzk?si=32rYqoiA_juHy7SU [Accessed 28 Dec. 2023].
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