Animation is a complex, specialised process. Animators spend years learning and perfecting their craft. CGI animation often costs millions of dollars to make and several years to go from concept to release. Now its possible to bypass all of that and create animated virtual reality (VR) movies using your body and voice with Mindshow.
Mindshow has just been launched in Steam Early Access, where it is now available for users of the HTC Vive. With VR integration, users can simply act out the various parts of the animation, then skin your characters how you want and piece them together to create an animated short. The current Early Access version includes the ‘Presentation Playset’ which includes three ‘puppet’ characters that users can pilot around, several set pieces, props and a stage area.
Users can link in their YouTube accounts to share finished or work-in-progress animation works with the community. Content shared this way will be curated and shared by the development team as part of the ‘Featured Shows’ tab inside the app.
Mindshow is available as a free download to Steam users. The current version is only available with official support for HTC Vive, but compatibility with Oculus Rift is expected to be added at a later date.
The development team are actively seeking feedback from the community on what features they want to see improved, or now things to add into the application.
A trailer for the Early access launch is available to view below. Further information and updates can be found on the Steam Store page.
VRFocus will bring you further news on Mindshow as it becomes available.
via Mint VR