Create landscape art in Quill and Oculus

Martin Nebelong sketches and develops an immersive landscape composition.

Wielding the painting and animation tool Quill, Martin Nebelong shows how he sketches and develops an immersive landscape composition

In this workshop I’ll be painting a landscape scene in virtual reality with Quill. We’ll also have some characters in the scene, a dad and his two kids (inspired by my own children) and I’m aiming for a sunset mood. The dad is painting the scenery while his kids are playing.

I’ve had people ask about the speed of creating a landscape in VR compared to painting a similar scene in Photoshop. You’re using the same basic knowledge of colour, composition, line art and so on, so it’s easy to compare the two.

Initially things take a bit longer in VR, but imagine having painted one tree in VR with Quill. That tree can be rotated slightly to look like a new tree; branches and leaves can be rearranged; and parts of the tree can be easily recoloured. In just a few minutes, after having painted that first tree, you can have a forest that won’t look it’s made up of a single tree that’s been copy/pasted.

Now consider painting that same tree in Photoshop and then copy/ pasting it. You’d have something that’s clearly duplicated versions of the first tree, even if you recolour it, move elements around and so on. And that’s without taking into consideration the compositional freedom a 3D scene from Quill gives you. Want to see the world from ant view or bird’s view? No problem!

1 Set up the software

Toggle Brush Grid Helper and Toggle Grid Visibility should both be on. Both will help you position elements in the scene. I mostly use the Ribbon tool and the Selection tool during this early phase. You can toggle quickly between your main tool and the Selection tool by pressing the X button on your left controller (A on the right controller if you’re left handed). Once you make a selection, you’ll see the Transform Gizmo. You might want to turn this off, unless you need to move your selections more precisely. To do this, just push in on the left thumbstick.

2 Sketching phase

I start sketching using the Ribbon tool. I draw in a wireframe-like manner, and constantly turn the drawing in my hands to make sure it looks good from all sides. I use the scene grid as a base for the tree. This ensures that the scene is correctly aligned if I choose to export the scene to another 3D program. To save time, I select a branch and hold down the left trigger and the right grip button (thumb button) while dragging the selection. This is a quick way to make duplicates.

3 Colour fill the tree sketch to better visualise the 3D form

To give me a better understanding of the three-dimensional form of the tree, I make a new layer (either through the menu or by pushing up on the right thumbstick), choose the Capped cylinder brush or the Cylinder brush, change the colour to white and fill out the inside of the tree. Just seeing the elements as a see-through wireframe model can become a bit confusing, especially with more complex drawings. I make sure that Pressure Sensitivity is set to On under the Paint options. This ensures I can quickly match the thickness of the inside stroke to the sketch.

4 Sketching the first character

Now I sketch the first character on a new layer. He’s a small boy, running with what will be a paper aeroplane in his hand. I move the character around a bit to find a good spot for him, by switching to the Selection tool (X) and making a quick selection of everything. To adjust the selection, I press the right grip button with my active selection, and drag it around.

5 Adding basic colour to the tree

I switch to the layer with the white fill of the tree, select the Recolor tool and pick a dark brown for the trunk of the tree. I scale the Recolor tool up by pushing up on the right thumbstick, and quickly recolour the trunk. The Recolor tool can be set to be sensitive to pressure, which I have on most of the time. If you need to recolour only a certain part of your layer, make a selection of that part first before painting.

6 Introducing variations in colour

If you’re experienced with painting digitally, the Colorize options should feel familiar. Here, I choose Add and paint in some light on the trunk. I also use Multiply in the upper part of the tree, where I know the foliage will occlude the light. The amount and size of the strokes determine how smooth your colours will be. A stroke can only have colour changes along the stroke, not around it.

7 Rustling up plants and grass

I quickly paint the basic shape of the hilltop using the Ribbon brush. Then I draw some light blades of grass (A). I select those, drag some copies (left trigger+right grip button) (B), then draw a simple weed (C). I combine those (D) and finally I duplicate my grass patch all over the hilltop and add colour variation with the Recolor tool (E). This approach is fast and efficient!

8 Quickly create a tree canopy

First, I draw some leaves using the Ribbon brush. I rotate my brush while drawing, to make sure the leaf part isn’t just a flat surface. I copy this patch a few times and recolour. Then finally I copy that part and make sure to rotate and scale copies for variation. I might even go in with the Nudge tool to add even more variation.

9 Establishing the surroundings

Using the Ribbon tool and the Cabbed cylinder tool, I paint in the landscape. The hilltops and trees close to our main area of focus receive more detail, and I draw in grass and plants using the select/copy method. For the ocean “plate”, I draw a line with the Line tool and Ribbon brush flat on the scene grid. I make sure this line aligns to the grid, by rotating it into place using the Transform Gizmo (push in on the left thumbstick). Then I reselect the stroke, move-copy by dragging on the Transform Gizmo, and move the left thumbstick right to repeat the duplication. Repeat until you have a large plane that you can then scale to the right size.

10 Sketching in the other characters

Now that I’m happy with the appearance of my hilltop, it’s time to sketch in the other characters. I repeat the process I used for the first figure (step four) and make sure to view the drawing from all sides to avoid the characters tilting to one side. I also fill the family members with white to make them stand out from the surroundings. I use the Line tool to depict the easel.

11 Refining the character sketches

I start refining the first character, and redraw the initial rough sketch just like I would in a traditional drawing. It’s still a bit rough, but I’ll do the last polish pass during the colouring phase. Again, it’s very important to rotate your drawing throughout your painting process, to avoid creating a slanted drawing. Think of this step as making a wireframe model for your painting.

12 Colouring the character

Now that the character is drawn to my liking, I start adding colour. I paint flat Ribbon brush strokes on top of the character frame. Remember that the more strokes we have, the more colour detail and smooth gradients we’ll be able to achieve. If you know you want a gradient from top to bottom, make your strokes in that direction rather than horizontally. If you draw them horizontally, you won’t be able to generate a smooth gradient from top to bottom.

13 Refining the easel and painting

For the easel and canvas, which needs more precision than the previous elements, I turn to the scene grid. I draw the legs of the easel and the canvas using the Cube brush and Line tool. I make sure the lines align to the grid, and use the Transform Gizmo to rotate them into place. I go in and add lights to the sides and back using the Ribbon brush, Line tool and a lighter colour.

14 Painting in the other characters

I paint in the two other characters using the same approach as for the boy. The Selection tool makes it straightforward to repose the characters if necessary. For those two characters, I mostly use the Cabbed Cylinder brush. It’s slightly more demanding on system performance compared to the Ribbon brush, but you don’t have to be as careful to avoid “holes” between your brushstrokes. Happy Quilling!