VRAG - beginner

VRAG

vr art guide

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the beginner's guide to VR

the beginner's guide to vr

Everything you need to know if you are just starting your journey into VR art universe. Here you'll find extracts from our own experience and other sources to help you figure out important things

apps for vr art

3D painting in VR

Tilt Brush (Paid, outdated. Sketching, painting. Steam, Oculus PC, Meta Store)
Open Brush (Free, developing actively. Sketching, painting. Available on all platforms, including Steam, Meta Store and github)
MultiBrush (Paid, Sketching, painting as in Open Brush. Multiplayer up to 12 people. Meta Store)
Gravity Sketch (Free. Modeling, sketching. Also can be multiplayer. Steam, Oculus PC, Meta Store)
Quill (Free. Animation, drawing. Oculus PC)
Adobe Medium (Free, sculpting. Oculus PC)
ColoryVR (Paid, only in Steam, drawing with textures. Steam)
Figmin XR (Drawing with Passthrough + possible to animate. Steam, Meta Store)

2D Painting in VR

Vermillion (Paid. 2D painting on canvas. Meta Store)
Kingspray Graffiti (Simulation of graffiti painting. Steam, Meta Store)
First Touch (Free demo, paid app. Drawing with paint or spray. Meta Store)

health

If you feel nausea and dizziness, immediately remove the headset and have a rest. Then check both hardware and software settings: maybe you have straps too tight or too loose, maybe the distance between the lenses is not right for you ect.

Blink more. when we look at a screen, we blink at a lower frequency - this leads to dryness of the retina, which leads to dry eye.

If you often find that your eyes are dry (it feels like there is sand in your eyes and there are almost no tears) – get eye drops (to find the right remedy, you better contact a specialist). In VR, the issue of dry eyes is more acute, because the helmet worsens the supply of oxygen to the retina.

Do not forget to take small breaks in the workflow, during which you will give your eyes a break from the screen (from any screen, your phone also counts). usually, after 10-15 minutes you can safely return to work

After holding controllers for a long time, your thumbs and hands may begin to get tired and itchy. The best solution is to put them aside for a couple of minutes and shake your hands, after which the tension will pass

DISCLAIMER: following recommendations are based on our personal experience of VR-users and are not advices of qualified doctors.

how to start working with VR?

In order for the headset to work, you need to connect an Oculus or Facebook account to it (in fact, now it's the same thing). The headset itself will show you detailed instructions, but in a nutshell: you need to install the Oculus app on your phone, connect the helmet to WiFi and log in under your account.

There are several different types of headset on the market right now, but in terms of price and quality, we'd recommend Oculus Quest 2. All further instructions will apply only to this type of headset.

how to get started with this headset?

headset + computer

Quest 2 can work as a standalone headset, or with a connection to a computer. In this case, the computing power of the computer allows you to run more complex applications and broadcast directly from the PC. Not every computer is suitable for working with VR. A powerful processor and video card are needed. If you know what kind of hardware you have, go here. If you don't know, then you can check the compatibility of your PC with VR with Steam application or with application from Vive.

downloading files from the headset

Connect the headset to the computer via USB - Type C wire
Turn on the headset In the window that appears Allow Access to Data (Allow access /data transfer), select Allow
On the computer, the headset will start to appear as a folder with a file in which you can upload and download data, as from conventional hardware

oculus but if you pair it with macOS

Install and run Android File Transfer
Turn on the “Developer Mode” on the headset - you can do it in the Oculus app on your smartphone
Connect the Mac to the headset via USB - Type C wire
Turn on the headset
Select Allow in the window that appears Allow Access to Data
On the computer, the headset will start to appear as a folder with files into which you can upload and download data, as from conventional media

For the usual transfer of files from the helmet and to the headset:

To use the power of a computer for VR, you will need to perform a slightly more complex algorithm:

At the very beginning, you need to install Bootcamp, then open Utilities in the Applications folder, and open Bootcamp Assistant there.
You need to set the partition size between Mac and Windows. Oculus requires a minimum of 10GB. You will also need a copy of Windows, which can be found on the Microsoft website.
Go back to Bootcamp and select the Windows ISO file. After that, he will make a reboot and open on Windows.
Go to Oculus.com/setup and download the software and download the software
Oculus may not recognize the video card, then you need to go to the AMD support page and download the latest drivers for Bootcamp
Connect the Quest 2 headset to the Mac using the Link wire.
If a message appears that your computer does not meet the minimum requirements, the following maneuver can help: go to the devices tab, and tweak the refresh rate and resolution of your Quest

link connection

The connection to the computer can take place via a wire (Oculus Link, USB 3.0 - TypeC cable is needed, length is at least 3 m, optimally 5 m.) or via Wi-Fi (Air Link - wi-fi 5 GHz is needed).

by Wire Oculus Link

To configure the connection, go to here and on the blue button download the Oculus app for PC

Open the Oculus app on your computer.
Turn on the headset Connect the USB 3 cable to the USB 3.0 port on the computer, and the other end with the type-C connector to the helmet.
A message with the text “Allow access to data” will appear inside the headset. It needs to be rejected - Deny.
If you click “Allow”, the headset will be displayed on the computer as a folder, you can drop files there or get the necessary ones. It's okay, in general, it won't happen if you accidentally click the wrong way. After that, a window will appear with the text “Enable Oculus Link”, you need to select “Enable” so that the headset connects to the computer. Inside VR, the home location will also be displayed, but a little different than the standard house on the Quest.

If at any stage the computer doesn't see the headset or it does not see the wire, or the Enable Oculus Link window does not appear, then you need to re-plug the wire, restart the device or re-enter the application (log out - log in).

air link

Air Link allows you to use all the advantages of connecting the headset to the computer's power, but without extra wires under your feet. As written above, Air Link requires a good Wi-Fi router with a stable connection to the 5 GHz network. It is also recommended that the PC on which the applications are running be connected to the router directly via an Ethernet cable, and not via Wi-Fi.

Every time you need to connect via Air Link, you will need to first enable it in the Oculus app in the Settings section and the Beta tab.

You also need to enable Air Link on Quest. This function is still experimental, you can enable it in the Settings menu of your Quest, then go to the Experimental Features section. On this tab, you should be able to enable Air Link.