Use Lights to modify your scene's primary and secondary lighting colors and positioning.

• The sun is your primary light, and it casts shadows.

• The sun is the brighter light.

• The moon is your secondary light, it doesn’t cast shadows.

• The fill light floods the scene with an equal distribution of color and light. It's effects are most easily seen in the shadow color of your scene.

• You can grab and move the sun and moon by selecting with the trigger.

• You can change the color of all three light sources.

• The lighting effect is best observed on environments with a ground and object (i.e. pedestal), and in those sketches where there are at least a few strokes.

• The sphere the lights pivot around can be used as a representation/quick preview for placement of lights in the world.

• Custom lights save with sketches.

Status: Released to Current Beta

Download

• (Rift, Quest via Link cable...)

• (Vive, Index, Reverb...)

• (Pico, Pimax etc)

What does it do?

Tilt Brush was previously tightly integrated with - a website for publishing, sharing and browsing 3D models and Tilt Brush Sketches. This was both an easy way to allow others to view your work and a resource to find 3d elements that you can use to build your scene. It made it easy to produce sketches that combined elements drawn in with brushes in Tilt Brush with low-poly models created in Blocks.

We've created the - a replacement for the Google Poly website and restored all the publically shared artwork that was saved from the shutdown of Poly by volunteers from and other groups. We've also restored and even improved upon the integration with Open Brush and Blocks and have integration planned with Blender, Godot and other 3d apps and platforms.

How do I install it?

Download a build for your headset from the link above and unzip it. You can run the Windows exe directly. To install the Quest apk use SideQuest:

How do I use it?

TODO

Known Issues

TODO

How do I get help

Come over to the Open Brush Discord: and chat to @seethrough ).

We're mostly on UK time but we check in fairly regularly.

Can I see it in action?

The Open Brush config file can be used to tweak various options for advanced users. A blank Open Brush.cfg file will be created in the Open Brush folder on application startup if one does not exist.

Example PC path: C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Open Brush\Open Brush.cfg.

On an Oculus Quest, you can find this file in /sdcard/Open Brush. You can use either adb or the SideQuest file viewer to access this file. You could also sideload a text editor if you want to edit the file directly.

Example of an empty Open Brush.cfg:

Sample contents of a Open Brush.cfg with various fields filled in:

Valid Config file Settings

"User" Section

• Author: The name you use here will be stored in files uploaded to Icosa, Sketchfab etc.

"Brushes" Section

• AddTagsToBrushes: See

• RemoveTagsFromBrushes: See

• IncludeTags: See

• ExcludeTags: See

"Video" Section

• Encoder: (h.264) This setting specifies the video codec used for encoding exported videos. Currently, the only supported codec is h.264.

"Flags" Section

1. PostEffectsOnCapture: (true | false) This setting determines whether post-processing effects will be applied to captured images or videos. When set to true, effects will be applied; when set to false, they will not.

2. ShowWatermark: (true | false) This setting controls the visibility of the Open Brush watermark on exported images and videos. When set to true, the watermark will be visible; when set to false, it will be hidden.

3. ShowHeadset: (true | false) This setting determines whether the user's VR headset will be visible in the final exported images or videos. When set to true, the headset will be shown; when set to false, it will not.

"Import" Section

See

"Export" Section

See

1. ExportBinaryFbx: (true | false) This setting controls whether exported FBX files will be in binary format. When set to true, binary FBX files will be exported; when set to false, ASCII FBX files will be exported.

2. ExportFbxVersion: (FBX201600 | FBX201400 | FBX201300 | FBX2012 | FBX201100) This setting specifies the version of the FBX file format to be used when exporting 3D models. Users can choose from FBX201600, FBX201400, FBX201300, FBX2012, or FBX201100. If not specified in the config file, the default version is FBX201400. If users experience issues importing the FBX file into older software, they may need to select an older version.

3. ExportStrokeTimestamp: (true | false) This will put timing information into texcoord2 for all GLB exports. Timestamps are a vec3: x,y = the earliest/latest timestamp in the stroke which contains that vertex. z = the timestamp for that vertex. This setting defaults to true but can be disabled to reduce file size.

Setting config values from the command line

Any of the above settings in the Open Brush.cfg file can also be specified on the command line (not applicable to Quest users). The format is --Section.Setting <value>. For example:

Status: Experimental but lots of fun to play with.

Download

• (Rift, Quest via Link cable...)

• (Vive, Index, Reverb...)

• (Pico, Pimax etc)

Now included in the current

What does it do?

Unlike the existing , plugin scripting is designed to run small scripts that directly modify the behaviour of various features while you are actually using them. For example a script might move the pointer as you are painting or add new strokes in response to your actions.

What's it good for?

Changing the way Open Brush responds to user actions. Adding new mirror modes or creating a new custom brush tool.

How do I install it?

a build for your headset from the link above and unzip it. You can run the Windows exe directly. To install the Quest apk use SideQuest:

How do I use it?

See

How do I write my own plugin scripts?

See

Known Issues

Some API commands are untested. Please report bugs on the plugins and scripting channel on Discord. There's lots more I want to do with this including scripted 3d object creation, better UI for parameters (different input widgets etc).

How do I get help

Come over to the and chat to me ( @andybak#5425 ). I'm on UK time but I check in fairly regularly.

Can I see it in action?

Open Brush is completely free on all platforms. (Tilt Brush is still available and is still being charged for. This is still the only way to get the app on Playstation VR)

Only the main official release is available on most of the links below. If you want the experimental build then try Itch.io - or read about the other alternate versions that are available

PC

Steam Oculus Store Viveport Itch.io

Oculus Quest

Linux

Mac

There is no VR headset currently supported on the Mac but Open Brush does have some limited support for working as a .

Welcome to the Open Brush Documentation

There is content here for both users of Open Brush and for people that want to contribute to its development.

It's currently a massive work in progress and various links and info will be incorrect but we're just trying to get all the information currently available in one place.

Writing good docs takes time. We'd love people to help. Hop on our Discord or just write some docs and let us know about them. There's a bunch of you out there who know more about actually using Open Brush than we as developers do and your contribution would be invaluable.

Open Brush regularly saves your work into your Documents/Open Brush/Sketches/Autosave folder. Each sketch you make has a separate autosave file, and Open Brush keeps autosaves from your last five sketches. If you need to access an autosave, move it into your Documents/Open Brush/Sketches folder using Windows Explorer—it will have an Open Brush logo as its thumbnail in the Sketchbook.

Generally - when someone is working on a new feature, they create a new build to work on until the features is ready to merge back into the main release.

You can download these builds to try out new features. Sometimes the sketches you create with these builds won't open correctly in the main release (but not always) and like all pre-release versions these builds might contain bugs or incomplete features.\

If you hold down your Wand trigger (the left hand if you're using Open Brush right-handed) when you first select a stroke with the Selection Tool, only brushstrokes that use that brush will be added to the selection as you continue to select strokes.

You only have to be careful with the first stroke you select, and then after that, you can just wave the selection or erase tools with reckless abandon and it will only select strokes using the same brush type.

1. Environment Panel: You can choose a number of different virtual environments to paint in. For example, you can paint in Studio, Night Sky, Space or on a Dress Form. The lighting in the environment will affect the color of the brush stroke, but switching environments will not affect your existing brush strokes.

2. Lights Panel

3. Backdrop Panel

VR controllers can sometimes be a little too accurate and responsive, making it difficult to create smooth curves at low movement speeds. The Lazy Input feature will exchange responsiveness for control by applying real-time input smoothing.

Toggle it by HOLDING your off-hand trigger and TAPPING the button marked with the rabbit/turtle.

Use Backdrop to modify your scene's backdrop color gradient and fog.

• Grab anywhere on the backdrop sphere to move or turn it by selecting with the trigger

• The backdrop sphere represents the sky dome (skybox) in the world.

The Settings Panel can be opened from a button on the .

1. Top row of buttons (Left to right): i. Help: Pops up links to various useful web pages ii. About: Pops up our About page iii. Contribute: Pops up a link giving info on how you can contribute iv. Ruler

2. Second row of buttons (Left to right): i. Autosimplify ii. Experimental Mode: Toggles on or off next time you open the app iii. Swap Hands: Swaps the brush between the left and right hands iv. Reset First Use: If you click this then next time you launch Open Brush you will get the short tutorial you saw when you ran it the first time. Also turns off and switches back to Beginners Mode where most of the tools are hidden.

You may notice a number of brush stroke options are labeled as audio reactive. These are special types of brush strokes which can react to music or audio playing from your desktop.

To use audio reactive brushes

1. Begin playing audio from your computer desktop.

is a convenient endpoint you can call to get the current desktop view as a png. It will either be the headset or monoscopic user view - or the spectator camera if that is active.

Image size is based on the current desktop window size. Combined with API commands to move the spectator camera around, this can be used to automate complex renders or your own custom camera paths.

In a web page you can use this for a simple (nearly) realtime preview:

Be careful calling it too often as it's not terribly efficient and will slow down Open Brush. The above example refreshes once per second. We plan to implement a much more efficient WebRTC streaming endpoint at some stage but that will be more complex for client scripts to implement so this simple endpoint will still remain useful.

If you want to access the preview image from a different device to the one running Open Brush, you'll need to allow external connections to the API:

A great way to get comfortable with how plugin scripting works - especially if you've never coded before - is to look at existing scripts and modify how they work in small (or maybe not so small!) ways.

Any of the example plugins can be copied to your Open Brush plugins folder simply by clicking the copy button for that plugin type:

(If this button isn't visible then a script of that name already exists in your plugins folder - you've probably already clicked the button for that particular plugin).

Once a plugin script does exist in your plugins folder you can edit it. Any changes you make will take effect immediately - there's no need to restart either Open Brush or the plugin itself. Any syntax errors might stop the plugin working. If so these are displayed on the console on the back of your brush controller. They will tell you which script and which line number has the problem.

Reference Images allow you to view image files inside your Open Brush sketch. This can be useful for getting inspiration while drawing, or to incorporate as media in your sketch.

Reference Images are in version 21.0+ on Oculus Quest.

How to access the Reference Images Panel

The Reference Images Panel can be found on the Labs Panel. The Labs Panel is located in the 'More Options...' section of the Admin Panel in Advanced Mode.

Note: Released in

This build was intended to streamline the UI with a subset of features to:

1. Not overwhelm the user with complexity. This essentially meant that it should look as similar to basic mode as possible.

2. Contain only features deemed useful for classroom-style usage. This includes filtering the brushes down and rearranging several tools found in various panels into a single panel.

Both #1 and #2 were accomplished by creating a new "classroom" panel mode in addition to the normal "basic" and "advanced".

Bimanual Input

This is a 3D-version of bimanual tape drawing sometimes used in automotive drafting.

Holding the off-hand trigger down will constrain the brush to move in a straight line towards the off-hand controller.

You can curve the line by using your off-hand controller to control the stroke's direction while using your main-hand controller to move the cursor closer to the off-hand controller and control the stroke's orientation.

Status: Released in

What does it do?

The following gives an approximate measure of how "expensive" each brush is and how much it will contribute to your memory limit. For example you could have twice as many Duct Tape strokes (weight=1.5) as you could Disco (weight=3) before hitting your limit:

(If you're not sure how to launch an app with command line arguments I found this tutorial via Google: https://www.digitalcitizen.life/shortcut-arguments-parameters-windows/ - suggestions for a better link gratefully received)

Open Brush accepts the following command line arguments:

• --noQuickLoad

• --captureOds

• --outputPath odsOutputPath

• --outputPrefix odsOutputPrefix

• --preview

• --noCorrection

• --turnTable

• --numFrames

• --fps

• --export (followed by full path to .tilt file)

• --exportPath (defaults to [Open Brush folder]/Exports

• -batchmode / -nographics

• --renderCameraPath

• (filename of .tilt file in Sketches folder to load automatically)

• (Any valid user config setting and value)

User @rapka on Github (@collige on the Discord) is working on a new, revamped version of the existing Monoscopic Mode - the mode that allows you to use Open Brush without VR using keyboard and mouse. It's still not quite ready but it's more intuitive than the existing monoscopic mode and uses the WASD keyboard controls familiar to anyone who is used to standard PC game controls.

https://github.com/rapka/open-brush/tree/monoscopic-controls

AutoSpinSymmetry

Allows you to precisely control the spin speed of the symmetry widget

CrossfadeLayers

Cycles through all layers, fading one out as the next one fades in. An example of using shader parameters to fade strokes in and out

DrawAndAnimateStrokes

An example of drawing procedurally on startup and then using shader parameters to animate the strokes it has created

Lines

An example of drawing continuously. It draws random straight lines for as long as the script is active.

RandomPanorama

Randomly downloads a panorama from Openverse and sets it as the current skybox. Not every skybox is valid so you might need to toggle the script a few times. Also - they are quite large files. If you're short of space - make sure you have a clear out occasionally!

To make trying out multiple features easier I used to maintain a "Kitchen Sink" build that combined multiple feature builds in one. I don't have a current combined build. Instead try our current beta release

What is Experimental Mode?

Google had various stages for a new feature to make it's way into Tilt Brush. It would start off available only to a closed group of testers and developers. After that it might be added to the in the official release. And finally it would be released as an officially supported feature.

When Tilt Brush was released as open source, we discovered all the features that had been previously available to a select few and we made these available for everyone to try.

Turning on Experimental Mode

Simply open up the Settings Panel and click the button.

Experimental Brushes

There are - although some duplicate existing brushes and were included for technical reasons. That still leaves plenty of cool new brushes to play with. But be warned - they might not look correct when you export your sketches. Which is why they are still in "experimental mode" only.

Compatibility Issues

The main thing to be aware of with "Experimental Mode" builds is the new brushes. Any sketch you save that contains these new brushes may not look correct when you export it to another piece of software or load it in a non-experimental version of Open Brush.

We are currently working on a new Unity Toolkit that has support for all the experimental brushes in conjunction with the

Status: Released in v2.0

What does it do?

Organize your sketch into layers that can be turned on and off separately. Exports use only the layers you've set as visible so you can create layer just for guides strokes or construction lines.

How do I install it?

Download a build for your headset from the link above and unzip it. You can run the Windows exe directly. To install the Quest apk use SideQuest:

How do I get help

Come over to the Open Brush Discord: and chat to me ( andybak#5425 ).

I'm on UK time (currently UTC+1) but I check in fairly regularly.

Status: Buggy (especially the Quest version) but powerful and worth trying

Download

• (Rift, Quest via Link cable...)

• (Vive, Index, Reverb...)

• (Pico, Pimax etc)

What does it do?

It's an attempt to provide a runtime UI for Tim Aidley's "User Brushes" feature:

See:

Currently it:

1. Allows you to create a new user brush by duplicating an built-in brush

2. It exposes shader parameters as sliders and shows a preview stroke changing in realtime as you adjust the sliders

What's it good for?

Making your own crazy brushes!

How do I install it?

Download a build for your headset from the link above and unzip it. You can run the Windows exe directly. To install the Quest apk use SideQuest:

How do I use it?

There's a new button on the Experimental Features panel that opens the Brush Editing panel. Select a brush and then click the button to create an editable duplicate. (at the moment you have to scroll to the end of the Brushes panel to select the new brush but this should happen automatically)

Known Issues

Lots. It's an early proof of concept

How do I get help

Come over to the and chat to me ( @andybak#5425 ). I'm on UK time (currently UTC+1) but I check in fairly regularly.

Can I see it in action?

I made a quick video showing an early stage example:

When you paint freehand in Open Brush, the application is constantly recording your hand's position and orientation. Therefore internally a stroke is defined as a list of transforms. Scale isn't used but the position and rotation are key in defining the shape of the resulting stroke.

There are several situations when you might need to define a stroke when writing a plugin:

1. The most common use-case is with Tool Plugins. The value you return from the Main() function in a Tool Plugin is drawn as a brush stroke

2. You can paths explicitly using Path:Draw(), PathList:Draw() or the draw methods provided by classes such as SVG

In both these cases you must define the path as a list of transforms. Both the position and rotation are used to define the shape of the stroke. It matches what happens when you draw a stroke by hand - at each point in time you control both the position of the brush and it's orientation. Orientation doesn't matter for all brushes (a tube brush looks much the same whatever the rotation of the brush controller at each point is) but other brushes such as flat stroke brushes do make use of the rotation values you provide.

In the simple case where you are returning a value from the Main function of a Tool Plugin, you can return a normal lua array (or "table" as they are also called) containing two or more Transform instances:

It's simple to use a lua list like this: {} but there is also a class specifically for definition a list of transforms and it's called . The advantage of using this class is that also has many useful methods for modifying paths.

(The various Draw() methods insist that you use a Path object - so you can't use a simple lua array when you use those.)

Open Brush usually assumes a brush stroke is drawn by hand. Some simplification is done depending on your settings but a stroke is still usually made up of a lot of points forming a smooth curve as the app samples your controller position and orientation many times a second.

When you draw paths via code in a plugin script, you often send only the exact points you want. For example if you were drawing a square then you'd simply define the four points that make up the corners of the square (although you usually repeat the first point at the end if you want a closed shape)

The problem is that by default Open Brush tries to smooth the path you give it so your nice precise square becomes a rounded squiggle. The end result actually varies depending on the brush you use - different brushes use different rules for how to smooth the input points.

But generally speaking - if you want to draw a precise geometric shape then you need to add extra points - and the Path object has some useful methods to do this.

If you are having issues using Open Brush, check out your options below.

Asking Questions and getting help

You can join our Discord or post to our Github Discussions or the Tilt Brush subreddit. At the time of writing Google still hosts the old Tilt Brush Product Forum.

Common issues

Looking for saved files

If you have tried to export or save a file but you don’t see anything in Open Brush, the file has probably saved to your computer. Flip over your painting controller and check the history panel. It will display a list of all of your most recent actions or exports.

Lost artwork

Open Brush makes saves of your work in Documents\Open Brush\Sketches\Autosave. Each new sketch you create will have a separate autosave file, and Open Brush will store autosaves from your last five sketches. If you need to access an autosave, just drag it into the Sketches folder using Windows Explorer - it will have a Open Brush logo as its thumbnail in the Sketchbook.

After I launch Open Brush, a sad Tiltasaurus appears

This means your Head Mounted Display is not detected, and you'll need troubleshoot your HMD. or your

Pink screen when starting Open Brush

This is commonly an issue with using an out-of-date version of DirectX. Make sure you're on the latest version of DirectX, and that you're running Open Brush on a PC that matches the minimum specs of the VR device you're using.

Open Brush crashing or freezing

Antivirus software can sometimes interfere with Open Brush. Try disabling any AV or Firewall software you're running, and try starting Open Brush again.

If you downloaded Open Brush through Steam, try refreshing the cache by choosing to "Verify Integrity of Game Files..." for Open Brush through the Properties window.

Finding your log files

Every time Open Brush is run, a log file is generated "output_log.txt". That log file can typically be found at: C:\Users\<your name>\AppData\LocalLow\Icosa Foundation\Open Brush

• Use the sphere, cube, and pill guides to create perfect shapes.

• Guides are moved and scaled similar to other widgets, using the Grip buttons.

Guide Settings

Remixing allows others to download, edit, and republish your sketch. If you allow remixing, your content will be published under a CC-BY license. We’ll automatically show attribution on any remixed content we publish.

Creative Commons

Creative Commons licenses provide a standard way for content creators to grant someone else permission to use their work. If you allow remixing, your content will be published under a CC BY license. These sketches are then accessible to other Open Brush Sketches users for use, even commercially, in their own sketches.

Turning off remixing for your content

You can choose whether your content can be remixed by selecting from the "Allow remixes" or "Don't allow remixes" options under "Remixes" each time you publish. By default this option is set to "Allow remixes". You can change this setting at any time.

If you don't allow remixing, your content will be published under the standard Google .

Attribution

Attribution is required under the CC BY license. Any remix we publish will automatically show the source sketch’s title and author underneath the 3D viewer. You retain your copyright and other users get to reuse your work subject to the terms of the license.

Deleting remixable content or changing remix settings

If you delete content that was once remixable, or change the settings to remove remix rights, existing copies of your content used for remixes won’t be deleted.

What's eligible for remixing

Please understand that you may only mark your published sketches as remixable if it consists entirely of content licensable by you under the CC BY license. Some examples of such licensable content are:

• Your originally created content

• Other sketches marked with a CC BY license

Warning, not for the easily nauseated! While holding both grab buttons to change the scale, you’ll see a padlock on one of the action buttons. Click it, and you’ll now be able to orientate the world to any position you want!

Currently the brush panel is cluttered with a large number of brushes and is likely to grow larger in the future. As a first step toward better organizing them, this feature serves to classify each brush with a list of tags and a couple of filtering options.

Via OpenBrush.cfg (UserConfig), the brushes that show up in the panel can be limited by using the following options:

1. IncludeTags - specifies all of the brushes that may be included included in the panel

2. ExcludeTags - specifies all of the brush that must be excluded (even if they are also in "include").

To test, try the following:

• Declare include { "User": { }, "Brushes": { "IncludeTags": ["classroom"], }, "Video": { }, "Flags": { }, "Export": { }, } Result should be only a single page of brushes that have been tagged with "classroom".

• Add a new tag called "test" to a few brush descriptors that also have "classroom" and then declare inlude and exclude { "User": { }, "Brushes": { "IncludeTags": ["classroom"], "ExcludeTags": ["test"] }, "Video": { }, "Flags": { }, "Export": { }, } Result should be only a single page of brushes that have been tagged with "classroom" minus the brush tagged with "test".

• Exclude only case { "User": { }, "Brushes": { "ExcludeTags": ["classroom"] }, "Video": { }, "Flags": { }, "Export": { }, }

In addition, tags can be added and removed. Here is an example that includes this usage:

The location of the tools differ slightly between basic mode and advanced mode. In advanced mode environment moves to the "More Tools" panel and undo/redo are removed (you can access these via your wand instead) .

When you are finished with your 3D creation, you can save your Open Brush sketch to your computer, or share it to or . You can also take snapshot, GIFs or videos of your art to send to friends or post online.

Saving a sketch

While painting, you can save your sketch to avoid losing changes.

On your Open Brush panels, you’ll see a number of different options and features. Learn more about them in the pages that follow.

Eraser, Dropper, Re-Color, Camera, Teleport, Selection, Mirror, and Straight Edge are all on the top level of the Tools panel. on the "More..." panel, which is originally below the Tools panel, you can access Environment, Lights, Backdrop, Guides, and Poly Library.

At the bottom of the palette is the Menu panel which opens when you hover over it. In both Beginner and Advanced Mode, this Menu panel contains the Sketchbook, My Profile, Beginner/Advanced Mode, Clear Sketch, Save Sketch, and Upload. When you are in Advanced Mode, the "More Options..." button will also appear within the Menu panel and contains the Tips 'N Tricks, Labs, and Settings.

Background Plugins run all the time when activated. They are useful for animating layers or continually generating new shapes. You can still check for user actions such as pressing the trigger and change the action accordingly. They are very versatile but because they run continuously in they background, they can affect performance (especially if you run several at the same time).

Always use one of the other script types in preference if it is more suitable.

Unlike other plugin types, Background Plugins don't expect you to return a value and they don't do anything with any values you do return.

In contrast other plugin types use return values as follows:

1. Pointer Plugins use the returned value to change the pointer position, rotation or scale.

Paint with Open Brush

1. On your painting controller, use your index finger to pull the trigger.

2. Hold the trigger down and move the controller to paint.

Made by as a project for

Status: Experimental. Saved sketches are incompatible with official builds

Download

Status: This feature has now been merged into the main release

Download

This feature has now been merged into the main release

What does it do?

It expands on the previous Recolor tool which is now renamed to "Repaint". The following features can be used individually or in any combination:

Recolor

To try out newer features, you can open up the Labs panel. Here you will find some of the latest additions to Open Brush.

(If you're really interested in cutting edge features then you might also want to look at installing .)

Choosing an Editor

In theory you could use any text editor to write and edit your plugin scripts: Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on MacOS.

However an editor that is designed for writing code has many useful features to make your life easier. You might already have a favourite editor. However one thing to consider it whether it supports Lua properly - and also if allows you to use the autocomplete hints that we automatically provide.

These hints will allow your editor to suggest method names, offer tooltips for parameters and even spot errors in the types you're using in your code.

If you're not sure then the simplest thing to do is just use Visual Studio Code:

This page is a placeholder - I'm going to collect case studies and examples and expand it later into a comprehensive list of real-world examples.\

One of the biggest bottlenecks that stops us releasing more features more quickly is the lack of people prepared to test features that are either already in the beta version or are ready for merging into the beta version ("pull requests").

Testing the Beta version

The beta version is usually fairly solid but testing is invaluable - especially if you use Open Brush in depth (our testing is often from the perspective of a casual user) or you use a headset other than a Quest 2 (currently we do the bulk of our testing using Quest 2 via Link or standalone. Testing intesively on a wide range of headsets is a major chore). The best way to help test is to switch to using it instead of the normal version of Open Brush and to report any issues you find by posting to our on Discord (or if you need to chat before you're confident enough to report a bug, just post in the )

What does it do?

1. Snap selections to a grid. Duplicate selections at precise positions

Open Brush comes with a wide selection of brushes and there are even more if you switch on . But be warned that the experimental brushes can be more problemmatic if you need to export to other apps. See the docs on the and on for more information. We plan to move many of the experimental brushes into normal mode when we're satisfied that they work everywhere the regular brushes work.

Customizing Brushes

There are currently three ways to add and modify brushes:

Open Brush (or at least currently the experimental build that supports plugins) ships with a selection of plugins that are both useful in their own right, great examples of what is possible and hopefully good starting points for people that want to write their own plugins.

This page will list the included plugins along with a brief explanation of what each one does. It is aimed mainly at users. If you're interested in understanding how each plugin was written, then the source code is hopefully clearly written and contains enough comments to make it easy to follow.

General Tips

Developed by with support from and Open Brush community

Status: Experimental and incomplete

How to Find the Admin Panel

The admin panel is always attached to your wand - which is the controller in your non-dominant hand (which is your left hand by default unless you've switched hands on the )

This build is the pre-release version of Open Brush and may contain untested new features.

Opting in to the Steam beta

New features are usually developed on a separate branch of the project until they are ready to be merged into the current beta release. In most cases you can download builds of these branches and try them out yourself.

In the sidebar to the left we list the major alternative versions that are currently available, explain their features and what state they are currently in.

Some features are might spend months or years as separate builds. The person who started them might have got too busy to continue the work or they might just not be suitable in their current state. In most cases we will attempt to keep them up to date with the main release so they will have all the current beta release features as well as the extra things they bring to the table.

Beta Release

Whenever any new change is added to Open Brush, before it's released to the various stores and sites, there is an engineering "pre-release" version available. If you'd like to help beta test new versions, you can get these builds as soon as the new code is added (generally within 20 minutes!). Windows (SteamVR) and Quest/Quest 2 versions are built automatically which you can get from the . Versions of the form "vX.Y.0" are official releases, whereas versions that do not end in .0 are made available for testing purposes only, with no guarantees as to their quality.

These builds share a save location with the official Open Brush release, but can be installed alongside the formal version. The Oculus build, like all sideloaded content, will be listed in "Unknown Sources", and will have the word "Github" appended to the name (with a different package name as well) to differentiate it from the official release).

"Experimental Mode" Build

Whilst Open Brush was still Tilt Brush, the original team had a bunch of features and brushes they felt weren't quite ready to be released in the official app. As soon as Tilt Brush was made open source, everyone immediately leapt on these features with great excitement.

Feature Builds

Generally - when someone is working on a new feature, they create a new build to work on until the features is ready to merge back into the main release.

You can download these builds to try out new features. Sometimes the sketches you create with these builds won't open correctly in the main release (but not always) and like all pre-release versions these builds might contain bugs or incomplete features.

Multibrush (Tilt Brush fork)

Multibrush is mostly an with two extra features:

1. Post-processing effects that change the appearance of your entire scene. 2. Multiuser support: multiple people can paint at the same time and use voice chat in realtime.

Multibrush does not currently include most of the features that we have added to Open Brush since release.

Silk Brush (Tilt Brush Fork)

Tilt Brush. Running in a browser!

TutoriVR

A VR-embedded tutorial system that supplements video tutorials with 3D and contextual aids directly in the user's VR environment.

Full list of known Work in Progress

There's more features that are being worked on that listed above. We've omitted them because they are either too incomplete for users to try out or they have put on hold for some reason (usually that we're too busy to finish them at the moment!)

Here's the complete list that contains many items above plus a few more!

(If you can help out with any of these - please get in touch!)

Status: Released in v2.10

Download

• (Rift, Quest via Link cable...)

• (Vive, Index, Reverb...)

• (Pico, Pimax etc)

What does it do?

Social painting. Create with others.

What's it good for?

Collaborate on a sketch or invite people to watch you create.

How do I install it?

Download a build for your headset from the link above and unzip it. You can run the Windows exe directly. To install the Quest apk use SideQuest:

How do I use it?

There's a new button on the main admin panel. You enter a room name of your choice (or accept the random one provided). Share that room name with anyone you want to join.

Known Issues and current limitations

• Undo is disabled when in multiplayer mode.

• Loading sketches is disabled in multiplayer mode

• You must switch to before joining a room. Currently only basic mode features are supported.

• People that join the room will see the strokes you have made this session but they won't see any strokes that you loaded from saved sketch.

Our next priority is to fix the last issue. After that we will probably release the multiplayer functionality into the main beta release so it's easier for people to try it out. However - the more testing and feedback we can get at this stage, the better the beta release will be so please try out this build.

How do I get help

Come over to the and chat to Riccardo ( @sbanca ) or me ( @andybak#5425 ). We're both on UK time.

Can I see it in action?

TODO

Status: Released in v2.4

What does it do?

A new panel allows for precise position/rotation/scale changes to brush strokes and imported objects.

1. Enter an exact value to change the position, rotation or scale of the current selection

2. Lock any axis so you can only move the selection along a line or in a plane

3. Lock rotation axes in a similar fashion.

4. Control which axes respond to the snap grid

We've improved the Snap Settings panel:

1. You can turn position and rotation snapping on or off for each axis independently

2. You can also snap all the currently selected objects

3. You can turn on or off the ability to snap the selected objects to guides

What's it good for?

Creating regular arrangements of strokes or precisely positioning/orientating parts of your sketch.

How do I install it?

Download a build for your headset from the link above and unzip it. You can run the Windows exe directly. To install the Quest apk use SideQuest:

Where do I find the new Transform Panel?

It should appear automatically.

Known Issues

(To do)

How do I get help

Come over to the Open Brush Discord: and chat to me ( andybak#5425 ).

I'm on UK time but I check in fairly regularly.

Can I see it in action?

(To do)

Features Added to Open Brush

This section only lists features currently in the main release. There is also a with new features. There's also plenty more stuff in .

• Fly Tool

Paint in 3D with Open Brush, an app that runs on the , , , , and virtual reality systems. You can use different brushes, effects, and tools to paint your virtual creations.

Requirements and Installation

To paint in 3D with Open Brush, you’ll need to have a VR headset that supports SteamVR or any Oculus headset.

HTC Vive / Valve Index

You can open the Scripts Panel from a button on the

We won't be using the buttons on the bottom row at the moment. These are related to the older which are are useful for controlling Open Brush remotely. However the new plugin scripts are much more powerful and can add new features and modify how Open Brush works interactively.

The other four rows of buttons each relates to a different type of plugin. From the top down they are , , and .

What does it do?

Big expansion to the mirror to support many different types of symmetry:

Point symmetry: Symmetry around a point. 7 families of axial symmetry plus 7 unique polyhedral symmetries.

Wallpaper symmetry: 17 types of tiling symmetry

Duplicate selections using symmetry: Create multiple clones of a selection aligned in a pattern

Plugins are written in the scripting language which is designed to be simple to learn and easy to understand. There's plenty of tutorials online and Lua is widely used in games and applications such as , , , and many others.

If you've written scripts in any other language then you'll find it easy to pick up.

If you've never programmed at all then Lua is a great place to start. Copy an example script to your Open Brush folder (there's a button next to each Plugin type that does this for you), open it up in a text editor and try changing things.

As soon as you save your changes, Open Brush will load the new version. If you've made a mistake then the console on the back of your brush hand will tell you what line the error is on.

What does it do?

Allows you to control Open Brush using commands sent from your web browser or a script you write. You can use nearly any programming language or even just type commands into your browser address bar.

It even works on computers that don't support VR. You can create Tilt Brush sketches on a Mac and export them to view in a web browser.

Example of a script that uses a web form for input:

Example output from the form shown above:

Some output from other example scripts that are included:

What's it good for?

Almost anything! See the command list or the examples. These can be accessed via the help as described below.

You can write scripts to modify existing sketches ("change the color of all strokes to a sequence of rainbow hues"), draw entirely new ones ("draw me a landscape based on this satellite data"), automate tasks ("sign my name and export this sketch"), automatically import a directory full of 3d models and distribute them around your scene, draw fractals or complicated geometry and whatever else you can think of.

There are commands for features that are currently not exposed in the Open Brush UI such as resizing strokes and adding points to existing strokes. The example scripts should give you plenty of ideas.

Can I run scripts automatically at startup?

Yep. All you need to do is to create a text file called "startup.sketchscript"

Make sure the file extension is .sketchscript and not .txt

Place this file in your Open Brush folder inside your user documents folder. It should go into the "Scripts" subfolder in your Open Brush folder

(Usually in C:\Users[your user name]\Documents\Open Brush - This folder is created automatically the first time you launch the API build but you can create it yourself as well)

Each line in this file is a single command that Open Brush will run when you open it. For example:

This will load a sketch from your Sketch folder called "startup.tilt", switch to fly tool and turn on "viewonly" mode which disables all the panels. If you want to try this you can either rename one of your sketches to "startup.tilt" or you can change the first line in the script above. As long as the first line matches the name of a file in your Sketches folder then it should work.

If you want to distribute a sketch without people having access to the original .tilt file then you could change this slightly. Instead of loading a sketch, load an exported version of your sketch. For example, export your sketch and rename it to mysketch.glb. Place it in your Media Libary/Models folder and use this startup script:

Voila - a way to let people fly around your sketches without being able to modify them.

How do I configure it

There are two new settings you can change in your main Open Brush.cfg Both belong in the "flags" section of the config file

Defaults:

These two settings are for security and default to "false" but you may want to set them both to "true" if you want to control Open Brush remotely.

You should do this if you're on a private network. Disable it or configure a firewall to restrict access to known devices if you plan to use Open Brush on public Wifi such as at an event or show.

EnableApiRemoteCalls - by default the API only accept commands from the same machine that is running Open Brush. Set this to true to allow API commands to be sent from other computers. In most cases this will only be machines on the same local network. You will need to configure your router to accept connections on port 40074 if you want to accept commands from remote devices as well. Apps such as ngrok or localtunnel can make this simpler to set up.

EnableApiCorsHeaders: By default browsers are blocked from sending commands via javascript to another domain. Setting this to true will relax that restriction.

How do I use Open Brush without a headset?

See

Monoscopic mode is a bit tricky to get the hang of but for using it as a quick way to experiment with the API then all you really need to know is how to pan the camera to look in different directions.

Just hold down Alt (Cmd on a Mac) and drag your mouse in the viewport.

Currently there's no controls to move the camera but we plan to add this in soon.

A few other notes on monoscopic mode:

• Left click and drag to draw on the drawing plane (the grid shown in front of you)

• Dragging with the right button down will bring the drawing plane nearer or further.

• Ctrl+mouse will rotate the drawing plane

• Clicking in the game window will capture your mouse cursor.

What's the simplest way to use the API?

Just type a command into the address bar of your browser whilst running one of the builds you've downloaded from this page.

You can also add html files to your Scripts folder. These can have standard form elements for input and some simple javascript to send commands based on those chosen values to Open Brush.

Check out the simple form examples included:

What commands are available?

Visit while you've got the custom Open Brush running to access the help.

A full list of commands can be viewed by going to

Each command has a "try it" link that will open a new browser tab with an example of the command in the address bar.

If you want to view commands when Open Brush isn't running: (not neccesarily as up to date as the list you get directly from the app)

How do I use the API from javascript

The has got some example scripts to look at.

Here's a simple piece of code to send a single command:

How about other languages?

Any language that can send http requests should work.

Known Issues with the API

Currently the brush 'cursor' (or the 'turtle' if you want to think of this as a kind of LOGO system) doesn't store it's full rotation - only it's bearing.

How to get help

With a custom build running you can visit:

and follow links to useful info such as a full list of commands, examples scripts etc

eIf you want to see an image or 3D model while you paint in Open Brush, you can add it to your scene. You can move, change, or delete reference images.

1. Make sure you are in Advanced Mode.

2. Below your palette, go to the Menu panel and select "More Options...".

3. On your paint palette, swipe to the Tools panel and select More.

4. Select Labs to open the

Click this icon to open the Media Library:

Add an image or video clip

1. Copy a PNG or JPG file to Documents/Open Brush/Media Library/Images or a video file to Documents/Open Brush/Media Library/Videos

2. In Open Brush, make sure you are in .

3. Go to the Menu panel (below your palette) and select "More Options..." > Labs > Local Media Library > Local Images.

Add a 3D model

1. Copy any 3d file to Documents/Open Brush/Media Library/Models.

2. In Open Brush, make sure you are in Advanced Mode. On the Quest you also need to switch Experimental Mode on in the settings.

3. Go to the Menu panel (below your palette) and select "More Options..." > Labs > Local Media Library > Local Models.

Supported File Formats

Interacting with Imported Objects

Move an image or model: Position your controller on the image, press and hold a grip button on the side of your controller. Then, drag the image to the new location and release the grip button.

Resize an image or model: With your controllers near the image or model, press and hold both grip buttons. Then, move the controllers farther apart or closer together.

Pin an image or model: While holding your selection with the grip, pull the trigger to pin. Alternatively, you can use the Pin tool to pin images, models, or guides.

Remove an image or model: With your controller near the reference image, press and hold a grip button. Then, flick the controller away from your body and release the grip button. You can also use the .

Pointer Plugins can modify the pointer position and/or rotation every frame. You can get the current position and rotation so you can simply add an offset to those - or you could create an entirely new position or rotation based on any of the other context variables that are available to the script.

Name a Pointer Script with the prefix "PointerScript". For example: PointerScript.MyPlugin.lua

Assuming your script is valid (i.e. it has no syntax errors) then giving it a valid prefix is all you need for it to appear in the Scripts Panel.

By default a Pointer Script returns a Transform which represents how the pointer moves relative to it's normal position (which in this case is wherever the user moves their brush hand)

The simplest possible pointer plugin would be something like this:

function Main()
    return Transform.identity
end

This does nothing at all. It returns a transform called "identity" which means "no change at all". There are several other ways to express the same thing:

There's no difference between these - it's just sometimes more convenient or clearer to write things in different ways.

So - a plugin script that does nothing isn't much fun. Let's change it so it does something.

Vector3.up is another shorthand - this time it's shorthand for Vector3:New(0, 1, 0) this is a vector with:

x is 0 (no change in the left/right direction) y is 1 (a shift of 1 in the up direction) z is 0 (meaning "no change in the forward/back direction")

So - this plugin tells Open Brush "the user's pointer should be moved up by 1 unit from whereever they are painting". If you try it you should see your pointer is about 10cm above wherever you move your brush hand.

So this is not very useful - but we at least we can see we are changing something now.

Let's try something slightly more interesting.

App.time is a property of the class where you can access various properties of Open Brush app itself. As you might have guessed App.time measures time - specifically the number of seconds since you launched Open Brush.

This plugin script will result in your strokes being painted somewhere way higher than the user's brush hand. How high depends on how long since they opened the app! Let's rein things in a bit.

That single return line is getting a bit complicated. Let's split things over two lines to make it easier to read:

If you've done any programming or scripting before, you should recognise what we've done here. "y" is a variable. We chose "y" as the variable name but we could call it anything we want.

We've assigned a value to "y" which is the result of calculating a

The output of the Waveform:Triangle method takes two parameters as input time and frequency. It returns a value that varies between -1 and +1. If you've configured your editor as explained in then you should have seen a hint pop up when you typed the first open bracket:

So we now have a plugin that moves the pointer up and down over time. You can change the second parameter to control the speed.

Let's go one step further - allow the user the control the speed without needing to edit the plugin script:

We've now told Open Brush that this plugin should show a slider in it's which changes the frequency that the pointer moves.

We've changed how export in general is configured. Previously all supported formats were exported whether you needed them or not. Some were pretty slow for large scenes (STL - looking at you) and you probably only needed a couple of them. Now you can choose which are available using the config file:

• ExportBinaryFbx: This setting specifies the version of the FBX file format to be used when exporting 3D models. Users can choose from FBX201600, FBX201400, FBX201300, FBX2012, or FBX201100. If not specified in the config file, the default version is FBX201400. If users experience issues importing the FBX file into older software, they may need to select an older version.

• ExportFbxVersion: Controls whether exported FBX files will be in binary format. When set to true, binary FBX files will be exported; when set to false, ASCII FBX files will be exported.

Circle

Draws a circle centered on the position you first press the trigger with the radius and orientation controlled by where you release the trigger.

Symmetry Plugins are similar to Pointer plugins with a few differences:

1. They can return a list of transforms that represent multiple pointers.

2. They can modify the color, size and brush type for each of the strokes separately.

3. They have access to the Symmetry Widget which can be used as a point of origin for each pointer. If you've used the Mirror or features in Open Brush then the Symmetry Widget is like the Mirror Widget that controls the reflection plane and center for those mirrors.

Status: Released in

We have been hard at work updating Open Brush to the latest version of Unity and it's new XR Framework. This will enable us to keep up to date with new features that are only available with modern VR SDKs such as hand tracking and passthrough. In addition it will make it much easier to support new platforms and devices moving forward.

As this is a big fundamental change in how Open Brush interacts with devices, we need your help testing our new builds before we release it generally.

I want to help test! Where do I get the new build?

Tool Plugins can do many different things but they are often used for drawing a lot of brush strokes all in one go. For example you could draw an entire spiral shape whenever the user clicks the trigger. Or you could use the positions: where they first pressed the trigger in and where their brush controller was when they released the trigger - to get the size of a region and create a shape that filled that space.

To create a Tool Plugin name your script with the prefix "ToolScript". For example: ToolScript.Circle.lua

Tool Scripts should usually return a list of transforms. If they do then this defines an entire brush stroke that is then created for you.

We previously started by showing the simplest possible plugin script - one that does nothing. Because a tool plugin does nothing by default that would be an empty file! But let's put a bit of scaffolding in so you have a starting point for a plugin that actually does something.

It checks to see if the user pressed the trigger and if so it returns an empty list. So this plugin does nothing and it does it every time the user presses the trigger. Great, huh?

Let's make it do something:

1. Eraser Tool. You can use the eraser tool to erase entire brush strokes. To select the tool:

   1. Point your painting controller towards the palette and select the eraser .

   2. Position the tool anywhere on the brush stroke and press the trigger to erase.