News

Google's VR painting app now responds to music

New tools make it easier for artists to create audiovisual experiences

Google released a new version of its VR painting application Tilt Brush, which includes new audio-reactive brush tools to enable the creation of paintings that respond to music.

Since its earliest demonstrations in 2015, Tilt Brush has proven to be one of virtual reality's most compelling applications, attracting an audience of amateur and professional artists alike. The app, which allows users to paint three-dimensional sculptures on a canvas environment, provides a tactility and sense of presence that make virtual reality fun and easy to understand for even the newest users.

These new musical brushes open up the possibilities for artists to create dynamic VR art pieces that engage with music, forming an interactive audiovisual experience. When using them, brush strokes move in response to the music. In the past, VR art pieces incorporating audio and video like this have been more complicated to put together, but Google is now providing Tilt Brush as a platform for these enhanced experiences to be made more easily. Also, since Tilt Brush already offers dynamic environments, the potential remains for these audio-reactive features to be expanded, allowing artists to further intertwine music and visuals in virtual reality.

Neal Rahman is Mixmag's Los Angeles Digital Intern. Follow him on Twitter