The artist behind some of Disney’s most popular animated characters has demonstrated a 3D painting app that allows users to draw in mid air using a VR headset. In promotion of the Future of Storytelling conference next month in New York, Glen Keane donned a HTC Vive headset and using software called Tilt Brush illustrated cartoon characters that he was able to walk around as if they were three-dimensional.
With collaborative drawing technology like Smart kapp already popular in the AV market, Keane’s demonstration hints at a future where artists and creatives will be able to work on life size 3D designs in real time.
Having been in the animation business for almost 38 years, working on characters from The Little Mermaid, Tarzan and Pocahontas, Keane is clearly excited by the possibilities.
"North, south, east, west – all directions are open now," said Keane, who described the VR experience as being like stepping through the paper into something that is more like a dance than the act of drawing.
"That doorway to the imagination is open a little wider. The edges of the paper are no longer there – this is a sculptural drawing."
Keane will be one of the speakers at the Future of Storytelling next month at New York’s Snug Harbor campus.