Open Brush

Open Brush VR

Open Brush is a 3D painting application for virtual reality that allows users to paint in three-dimensional space with their room as their canvas.

Origins & Development Open Brush is the community-powered evolution of Tilt Brush from Google, originally developed by Skillman & Hackett. The application is developed and published by the Icosa Foundation and was released on June 8, 2021.

Pricing & Philosophy Open Brush is free to play and open source. The developers emphasize that it is and always will be open and free, driven by a belief in the preservation of art and the freedom of artists.

Features Open Brush offers a palette of 48 different brush types that go beyond typical painting media, including fire, water, smoke, and light beams. The application includes a large selection of environments where users can float in space, create costumes, or transform their living space through passthrough technology. Users can transport themselves across the cosmos or explore famous portraits from within.

User Reception The application has Very Positive reviews on Steam, with 95% of 148 user reviews being positive.

Platform Availability Open Brush is available on multiple platforms including Steam, Meta Quest, Oculus Rift, Viveport, SideQuest, and itch.io. It supports various VR headsets and features single-player mode with tracked controller support.

Community Connection Development began after Google announced it was shutting down its Poly platform, which allowed creators to share and remix works created in Google Blocks and Tilt Brush. The project is community-led and driven, with a small core team supported by an active community.