This week's show goes far and wide to address a widely reported, collective feeling of funk during this state of quarantine. We're showcasing a variety of new pieces and a fresh spatial interview too

In our Beginner's Guide to VR Art Creation Apps, we shared a few software tools for artists looking to get into designing, painting, or animating in VR. Finding the right tools is only one part of the process, so we’ve gathered a list of tutorials and learning resources, crafted by VR gurus who we believe offer some solid input. 

Durk van der Meer hails from Groningen, Netherlands. A painter and digital artist, he graduated from Academie Minerva, Hanze University with rigorous and traditional training in visual art. As a self-taught 3D artist, he has a striking body of work and a wealth of experiential loot from his time in architectural visualisation and the animation industry. Some early work includes projects with Happy Ship -- a company in Groningen -- where he assisted on Polska Warrior, an animation project that received a Golden Calf.

After many months of development, we're excited to finally launch version 1.0 of the Museum of Other Realities (MOR) on Steam, Viveport, and Oculus Store (Coming Soon). During our time in Early Access, we had the opportunity to hear from the community, which in turn, helped us iterate based on the valuable feedback we've received. We're also glad to have worked with so many amazing artists who have contributed so much to the MOR.

Alongside gaming and training, another area where the virtual reality (VR) shines is as a tool for creativity. The ability to navigate and operate within 3D space firsthand can feel more natural than pointing and clicking on a monitor. From sculpting to animating, there's a range of software for creating in VR. However, with how fast the industry changes, figuring out where to start can be daunting, so we compiled this list.

Em Halberstadt is a sound designer at A Shell in the Pit, where she works on audio for indie games. In addition to exhibiting an installation at the MOR, Em also works on the museum’s sound design. In this interview, she talks about her creative process, tools, and the difference between designing sound for traditional games and VR experiences.

John Orion Young (JOY) uses virtual reality (VR) as a tool for creating unique art pieces that are often sold and exchanged on the Ethereum blockchain. Young's site has been consistently popular with his collectibles generating a lot of activity on the blockchain. In this interview, he touches upon some fascinating aspects of the physicality of creating in the VR medium, digital art ownership and its indexicality.

With our Fall Update, we introduced a new way to learn more about the amazing artists pushing the envelope of virtual reality (VR) art. Spatial Interviews are similar to audio tours or podcasts, except in the MOR, these are captured moments you can walk around in and experience like you were there. In addition to a guided tour of Sean Tann's Complex Chaos, we now have two new Spatial Interviews in the MOR, one with VR artist John Orion Young and the other with sound designer, Em Halberstadt.

Liz Edwards (@LizalEdwards) brings a band of other-worldly animated ghouls and skeletons to the MOR. Created with Tilt Brush and 3DS Max, the Ghouls are made even more compelling with immersive sound design by A Shell In The Pit and an embellished floor of photogrammetry sand (from Ocean Beach in San Francisco) by Az Balabanian (@Azadux).

In this behind-the-scenes look into building the MOR, we talk about the sound implementation for Durk van der Meer's piece, Terrarium.

Bastiaan Hooimeijer (Naam) is a self-taught 2D / 3D / VR artist / designer / animator / director / developer from the cold Norths of The Netherlands. He started out mid-1990's as comic artist, illustrator and poster designer, and went via DTP into 3D animation. In 2001 he founded the computer animation studio Happy Ship, with which he rolled into the VFX business, fully animated productions, and more recently VR development.

Though bedrooms are primarily for sleeping, they aren’t meant to be dark all the time. A bedroom should have a combination of both portable and installed lighting to provide illumination for tasks like dressing and reading.