DESIGNING IN VR
The lines between physical sculpting and digital design are rapidly blurring, thanks to the power of VR
The design and visualisation industries have changed enormously over the last few years, with leaps in graphics rendering transforming the working practices and quality of imagery produced by professional creatives. Now it’s VR that looks set to change the rules of play, affecting every aspect of the creative process, from initial concept work through to client presentation, and opening up plenty of fresh opportunities for 3D artists in the process.
Such enthusiastic and rapid adoption of VR may be unlikely in the professional design world, but then these are arguably the markets best prepared to embrace the technology. “VR historically came from the production side, where professionals have been utilising virtual environments [in various forms] for the last 20 years,” points out Bruno Stefanizzi, senior manager of software development at AMD. “Now that’s really set to expand, as the technology becomes ever more powerful and affordable.”
The hows, whys and whens vary between sectors, but already VR is making its presence felt in architectural and other visualisation and design fields, in engineering and sciences, and in the hands of digital artists. Already the quality offered by the current generation of headset displays, and sensor/controller systems ensures that VR is anything but a gimmick, while the relatively low cost of entry means that the technology can be readily used by designers, engineers and clients alike.
“The potential for virtual reality platforms in the creative space is astronomical,” says digital artist Glen Southern. “Being able to sculpt with your hands like you would in real life helps to bring back that age-old craft, but with you feeling more in control of your creative process.”
It’s creatives like Glen – whose work relies as much on traditional drawing and sculpting skills as
software prowess – who will most immediately reap the benefits of VR. Virtual reality offers these artists a near irresistible meeting point between the realms of the physical and the pixellated.
“It’s a sea change for the digital arts,” agrees renowned digital artist Bay Raitt. “What used to be the exclusive domain of the professional game development or VFX artist is now a playground.”
Meanwhile, in the world of visualisation, VR looks set to become an essential tool both during the creative process and also for client presentation. These are fields where the ability to think in terms of complex 3D environments is fundamental to the design process. Allowing designers to move around a space as they construct it not only makes that process easier, it also has the potential to change the way they appreciate and utilise space and scale when concepting, and iron out issues during development and evaluation stages. Similarly, while visualisation renders have become ever more lifelike over the last few years, the ability to convey to clients exactly what a final design will look like simply by handing them a headset is a real game changer. That potential for visualisation also speaks to scientific fields, particularly medicine, where the ability to interactively and immersively explore 3D representations of physical forms from any angle and at any scale (right down to the cellular or sub-atomic level) holds enormous potential.
embracing VR
Not that VR is necessarily always a replacement for the established array of monitor-based 3D tools, particularly in fields where practices are set in stone and modelling precision is paramount. “At the moment, we’re more focused on the idea of dual vision, with your content creation tool and VR environment visible at the same time,” says Bruno. “We’ve recently been working with Solidworks showing how users can drag and drop their content into a game engine to explore designs in virtual space. In terms of creating content in VR, I think that’s going to take more time [to become the norm]. There are so many constraints and workflow changes involved.”
For a glimpse of what can be achieved when such challenges are surmounted, it’s worth looking at the changes underway at legendary design studio Seymourpowell. Here the studio is fully embracing VR, with the introduction of its
WHAT USED TO BE THE EXCLUSIVE DOMAIN OF THE PROFESSIONAL GAME DEVELOPMENT OR VFX ARTIST IS NOW A PLAYGROUND Bay Raitt, digital artist
own proprietary tool for sketching and modelling in virtual space.
“We see VR changing the way we design,” says Richard Seale, lead automotive designer at Seymourpowell. “Anything that shortens the time from napkin sketch to showroom floor can only benefit the end user, plus with VR OEMS we can be more reactive and agile in responding to customer needs. We believe there will always be a place for the art and sculpture that clay modelling brings, but tools like this will help designers explore more options before they commit to time-consuming and expensive physical modelling.”
A powerful tool
It’s early days, but Vr-based design is already shaping up to be a game changer. And as it benefits from increased software support, greater affordability and increased visualisation power, the integration of virtual reality into 3D workflows may even become universal. That VR can not just save time but help communicate design ideas is now proven. Just how much ubiquitous the technology becomes, and how much it fundamentally alters the way designers think, create and collaborate remains to be seen.
“the Smartsuit pro is much easier to operate and put on than other solutions, and can even be operated singlehandedly,” says Jakob Balsev