Google's Tilt Brush, a virtual reality art app that allows users to paint in 3D spaces, has now been rolled out to the Oculus Rift.
Previously only available for the HTC Vive, Tilt Brush received a few significant changes for its Oculus Rift version, as it taps into the capabilities of the Oculus Touch controllers.
Tilt Brush Arrives On The Oculus Rift
"Tilt Brush lets you paint in 3D space with virtual reality," claims the app's description on the online Oculus Rift Store. The app is being sold for $29.99, and while it does not utilize an internet connection to function, the Oculus Touch controllers are a requirement.
Similar to the version for the HTC Vive, Tilt Brush for the Oculus Rift will allow users to create 3D paintings and digital sculptures in a room-scale setting. However, for Oculus Rift owners who have not set up their headsets for room-scale VR, Google has added an option into Tilt Brush that will allow users to rotate and scale their canvas space so that they can work while seated.
In addition, for the Oculus Rift, Google has introduced a function that allows users to see what each button on the Oculus Touch controller does by resting their finger on them. The built-in headphones of the Oculus Rift also add a unique audio experience to the visually stimulating app, with different brushes creating different sound effects.
On the HTC Vive, using Tilt Brush with the VR headset's wands made it feel like users were utilizing paintbrushes. However, with the Oculus Touch controllers, users will feel like they are using their fingers to paint in the Oculus Rift version of the app, which would be a good thing for more tactile artists.
Oculus Rift: Best VR Headset For Artists?
Tilt Brush joins Medium and Quill, both released by Oculus VR, to make the Oculus Rift arguably the best VR headset for artists, as it offers a wide array of apps on creating art in various forms.
In Medium, users chip away at a digital block for a 3D sculpture, and for Quill, users are given a more realistic setting for their art works with a cleaner look. Tilt Brush offers another option for artists in virtual reality, limiting the capabilities of the platform only to the extent of the user's imagination.
However, with Google rolling out Tilt Brush to the Oculus Rift, is a version for Google Daydream View virtual reality headset coming up next? According to Elisabeth Morant, the product manager for Tilt Brush, that might not be the case, as the Daydream View uses a tracking system with three degrees of freedom while Tilt Brush requires six degrees.
Oculus Rift News
The Oculus Rift is apparently not performing as well as Facebook-owned Oculus VR would have liked. Amid the order for the company to pay $500 million to ZeniMax as settlement for a lawsuit, Facebook is shutting down hundreds of demo stations for the virtual reality headset in Best Buy stores.
The Oculus Research Lab is still hard at work at making improvements to the Oculus Rift though, with a documented visit by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealing a project that looked like VR gloves.
