VIVERSE, HTC’s 3D immersive network ecosystem, announced today (18th) that the winning works of the first global VIVERSE and Open Brush Immersive Art Jam, co-organized with the well-known VR painting and immersive art creation tool Open Brush, were officially announced. This VR art competition with the theme of “what reminds you of home” attracted the participation of creators from the Americas, Europe and Asia. In the end, the work “Childhood Home” that depicts childhood memories won both the first place and the highest popularity award.
VR Space Painting: Open Source Evolution from Tilt Brush to Open Brush
Open Brush is an open source continuation of Google Tilt Brush. It was originally developed by the Skillman & Hackett team. After being acquired by Google, it was released as an open source code in 2021. It is currently maintained by the Icosa Foundation. Different from traditional painting, VR space painting allows creators to create with lines, colors, light and shadow, and three-dimensional structures in a virtual three-dimensional space. The work itself is a “world that can be walked into, viewed and felt”, rather than just an image on a flat canvas.
This competition takes advantage of this feature of Open Brush and requires creators to three-dimensionally draw their imagination of “home” in VR. Andy Baker, lead developer of Open Brush, said: “Space painting is a very unique medium. It is neither a traditional painting nor a sculpture, but a completely different form of creation. It allows many outstanding and unique artists to create truly wonderful and unprecedented works.”
The winning works are announced: Childhood Home wins the championship
This competition is judged based on three major aspects: “creative concept”, “work completion” and “content optimization”. The judging panel includes Open Brush chief developer Andy Baker, professional VR artist Sutu, and Japanese VR artist Aimi Sekiguchi. The list of first-time winners is as follows:
- first place：Childhood Home (bonus USD 2,500, approximately NT$81,250)
- second place：At Home in My Creative Bubble (bonus US$1,500, approximately NT$48,750)
- third place：Food and Friends (bonus USD 1,000, approximately NT$32,500)
- Most Viewed Popularity Award：Childhood Home
One of the judges, Aimi Sekiguchi, said: “This is not just drawing art, but creating a complete world. This way of bringing new experiences is creating a new art type. VIVERSE allows works to be seen by more people across multiple devices, which is of great significance in expanding the possibilities of immersive art.”
Watch without a helmet: WebXR lowers the threshold for VR art
All winning works have been published to the VIVERSE platform and transformed into immersive 3D experiences that can be opened directly through the browser through WebXR technology. Users do not need to be equipped with a VR head-mounted device. They only need to use a laptop, tablet or smartphone that supports a modern web browser, and click on the link to enter the world of the work.
Lin Junwu, general manager of VIVERSE, said: “Unlike traditional flat paintings, the canvas created by VR is no longer limited by size and boundaries. This award-winning work shows that VR art is not only an extension of painting form, but also a new creative language that combines space, narrative, emotion and interactivity. VIVERSE hopes that through the open WebXR platform, more creators can bring 3D works to a wider audience, and that immersive art is no longer limited to specific devices.”
This cross-device, installation-free, shareable content experience model has significantly lowered the threshold for the general public to access VR art, and also allows creators to reach global audiences in an easier way.
Not just exhibitions: VIVERSE Partner Program allows creators to make real profits
In addition to the platform function of publishing immersive content, VIVERSE has also recently launched the VIVERSE Partner Program, which focuses on “earning revenue based on real user interaction performance rather than relying on advertising exposure.”
The program adopts a free-to-join, non-exclusive cooperation model. Creators can simultaneously publish their works on other platforms, while expanding their reach and earning revenue through VIVERSE. For creators, the most attractive thing is VIVERSE’s clear commitment that content hosted on the platform will not be used for AI model training, ensuring that creators’ works and IP are respected and protected. In the current trend of many platforms using user content to train AI, this move has attracted particular attention.
More VIVERSE Partner Program information
Commercialization exploration of VR art platform
This competition started collecting applications in March this year and has gone through nearly two months of collection and selection. The cooperation between VIVERSE and Open Brush is not only a creator event, but also reflects HTC’s strategic shift in the layout of the VR ecosystem: from focusing on hardware sales in the past to building a complete platform economy from content creation, publishing to monetization.
With the rapid development of 3D content, WebXR and immersive creation tools, VR art is moving from experimental creation to a content form that can be consumed, shared and monetized by the public. VIVERSE is trying to open up the last mile from creation to commercialization in the VR field through open technical standards, cross-device viewing experience, and creator-friendly profit mechanism.
Source: KOCPC Chinese