Google poly api for Unity

I had tried the download from the web and import option for Blocks before to Modo and Unity, and it seemed pretty clunky, not offense to the Google VR team, I just saw this as part of the workflow that would sit on the backlog. I have been doing 3d long enough that I just assumed that due to how new the Google Blocks and Poly tools are, that we'd have to wait a while to really see the next stage in the evolution - where we could create and edit in VR, then drop directly into an engine to move the ball forward. But here it is, nested right inside Unity! Granted, there is no scaling to speak of, and the meshes are combined into odd groupings, but the colors are there, and it's a good representation of the models. 

Google Blocks democratizing VR creation

Nov 5th, 'Cross Platform Blues'

Oct 25th, 'Blocksoween' model kit for Google VR

Google Blocks for the Oculus Touch has captured my imagination in a way that no other content-creation tool has in Virtual Reality thus far, in large part due to the fact that nearly anyone can make 3d content in seconds. The robot above is one of a handful of creations that I have made over the last few weeks since Google Blocks was released. While the 3d technician in me wished that the tools in the app were more robust, that detail would come at the cost of complexity, and the low bar to entry is the most appealling part of this app. That makes the UX designer part of me smile, though the interface and use of tool are still a little rough, even compared to other Google VR tools like TiltBrush.

There's only  a certain level of complexity that's possible; even the scale has a upper and lower limit, but I've already found that elements that you've made and saved as a file can be imported as groups. The app is a little finicky about how those groups can be edited; you can change colors and parts of polygons, but you cannot edit the groups or delete elements of a group. 

Ripe Candy! (illustration with Procreate)

A little time away from my day work helped to get the creative juices flowing; on the runway for a recent flight, I inked this illustration, then took my time to flesh it out on the first half of the flight using Procreate and Glaze on my iPad Mini.

Mischief UX Self Portrait 2017

As a first step in an overhaul of my portfolio and website, I wanted to create a unified graphic that represents who I am as a designer- a little bit of history, but also a visual description about the areas where I am the strongest or have the greatest interest. Since the last few years have involved non-traditional interfaces and UX design- Kinect apps, Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality as well as touch interactive and 'traditional' digitial design for web and print, I decided my approach needed to be on the whimsical side to fit it all in...Though I needed to do a little bit of finishing in Photoshop, almost all of the linework and color was done in Mischief, which has really become my go-to application for drawing and quick sketches. 

 

Modo modeling: Cuckoo

It's that time of year again, the holidays, when I seem to forget about making a card until the last minute. Last year's card (which I will need to dig up) was an homage to Richard Scarry, since he is beloved in my family, but I do like to mix it up with a 3d card every other year if possible, and I think I have an idea that fits the bill. Usually, when I throw humor into the card on the holiday card, it misfires, like when I had a cannibalistic gingerbread man interpreted to be expecting a family addition...I started a model a little while ago, and then projects came up that shuffled it to the back of the deck; but I dusted this one off in Modo to help announce the new year.

Initial pass for rendering:

Diving in to some polygonal edits on the piping.