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Tilt Brush

The XR SchoolHumanitiesArt › Tilt Brush
$29.99 (Steam/Meta) ★ 92% Steam (Overwhelmingly Positive) ⚠ No updates since Jan 2021 Open Brush: free & actively maintained
Skillman & Hackett (acquired Google 2015) • Overwhelmingly Positive 92%, 2,600+ reviews • Open-sourced Jan 26 2021 • 60+ brushes: fire, stars, animated neon

Tilt Brush

The original 3D VR painting application. Paint with fire, stars, animated neon, and light in room-scale space — walking around and through your own artwork as you create it. Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam with over 2,600 reviews. Google ended active development in January 2021 and open-sourced the code. For new purchases, the free successor Open Brush is the recommended path.

Developer: Skillman & Hackett (Google, 2015–2021)
Price: $29.99 (Steam & Meta)
Platform: Steam (PC VR) • Meta Quest • PSVR
Status: No updates since Jan 2021 • Open-sourced
For new school purchases, The XR School recommends Open Brush instead of Tilt Brush. Open Brush is the free, actively maintained open-source successor built from the same codebase by the Icosa Foundation. Open Brush 2.8 was released August 2024 with new features. It is available free on Steam, Meta Quest, and in a web browser. This review covers Tilt Brush for schools that already have it or are researching both — see the Open Brush section below before purchasing.
7.0
/10
XR School Score (Tilt Brush)
Recommended (with caveat)
92% Steam Overwhelmingly Positive (2,600+ reviews) • 60+ distinctive brushes • No updates since Jan 2021 • $29.99 • Open Brush (free) recommended for new purchases
92% Overwhelmingly Positive 2,600+ Steam reviews
Open Brush = free successor
Overview: The Original VR Painting Canvas

Tilt Brush was created by the studio Skillman & Hackett, acquired by Google in 2015, and launched in 2016 as one of the first applications to demonstrate what room-scale VR could do for artistic creation. The fundamental premise — paint three-dimensional strokes in the air around you, then walk through and around them — was genuinely new. With 60+ brushes including fire, animated stars, neon that pulsed, smoke, and light, the application gave artists expressive capabilities that existed nowhere else. It accumulated over 2,600 reviews on Steam at 92% positive, and the community of artists who built works in Tilt Brush through its active years was substantial and creatively serious.

On January 26, 2021, Google announced it was ending active development of Tilt Brush. The codebase was open-sourced on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 licence, and Google committed that the existing commercial version would remain available in digital stores permanently. No updates have been issued since. The Poly library, which allowed sharing and discovering community Tilt Brush work, was shut down June 2021; the community migrated to Icosa Gallery, maintained by the same open-source team that now develops the successor application.

Why the Overwhelmingly Positive Rating Still Matters Despite the Discontinuation Tilt Brush's 92% rating from 2,600+ reviewers was earned during the years the application received active development. The core experience — painting with fire, stars, and neon in a room-scale space you can walk through — is unchanged and unchanged by the discontinuation. For schools that already own Tilt Brush licences, or that find it at a deep discount (it has been bundled on Humble Bundle and through similar services), the creative tool itself remains fully functional and the rating is a genuine signal of quality. The discontinuation concern is about long-term support and whether it still works on current headsets without issues, not about the experience of using it on a supported setup.
Signature Brushes: What Makes Tilt Brush Distinctive
🔥
Fire
Animated flame brush that produces actual fire-like particle effects following the stroke. Students who have only painted on flat surfaces find this genuinely arresting.
Stars & Cosmos
Brush strokes that leave trails of glowing star particles, enabling three-dimensional constellation-building and cosmic landscape creation.
💡
Animated Neon
Electric neon strokes with animated pulse or glow effects. Creates the visual language of neon signage in three-dimensional space.
💨
Smoke & Fog
Diffuse atmospheric effects that can create cloud-like structures, breath, or environmental ambience around physical brushwork.
🪝
Flat Colour & Ink
Clean, conventional painting brushes for students who want to produce recognisable 3D objects rather than purely expressive marks.
📷
60+ Total
The full brush library covers oil-like textures, sketch pencils, wires, tubes, tapered ink, tape, and more. Open Brush maintains and extends this library.

Export options: OBJ, FBX, USD, GLTF. Works in room-scale (walk around your creation). Single user only — no multiplayer. The Poly community library that once allowed sharing is closed; community work is now shared via Icosa Gallery at icosa.gallery.

Tilt Brush vs Open Brush: The Decision for Schools
Open Brush: The Recommended Path for New School Purchases Open Brush is the community-developed continuation of Tilt Brush, built by the Icosa Foundation from the open-sourced code. It is free on Steam, Meta Quest, and accessible via a web browser. Open Brush 2.8 (August 2024) removed Experimental Mode, making all features available in the main build including monoscopic desktop mode (no headset required), improved GLB/glTF export, and a Transform Panel with snapping tools. It shares Tilt Brush's core brush library and feel, adds new features, and is actively supported. For any school making a new purchase decision, Open Brush is the right choice: identical creative experience, better file compatibility, free, and maintained.
Tilt Brush (original)
  • $29.99 (Steam / Meta)
  • No updates since Jan 2021
  • Google-produced, discontinued
  • Core brush library (60+)
  • OBJ / FBX / USD / GLTF export
  • Poly community library: closed
  • Some users report issues on current headsets
  • Steam: 92% Overwhelmingly Positive
  • Suitable if already owned
Open Brush (recommended)
  • Free (Steam / Meta Quest / web browser)
  • Actively maintained • v2.8 Aug 2024
  • Icosa Foundation open-source
  • Same core brush library + new tools
  • Improved GLB / glTF export (Blender-ready)
  • Icosa Gallery community sharing
  • Desktop monoscopic mode (no headset)
  • Transform Panel • Snapping • SVG import
  • Recommended for new purchases
Curriculum Value
Creative expression / imagination
9.4
All-ages accessibility
9.0
3D spatial thinking
8.6
Value (Tilt Brush at $29.99)
4.2
Long-term support
1.0
For Schools That Already Own Tilt Brush: What to Check If your school already holds Tilt Brush licences, the practical question is whether it still runs cleanly on your current headsets. Some Steam community threads from late 2024 describe usability issues on newer hardware, though the majority of the experience's review body reflects solid performance. Test on your target hardware before deploying in class. If your existing installation runs well, there is no urgent case to switch — the creative tool is fully intact. The main operational consideration is that the Google Poly sharing community is gone and some community tutorial links from the Tilt Brush era now 404; the Icosa Gallery at icosa.gallery is the current home for community work and reference.
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths (Tilt Brush)
  • 92% Steam Overwhelmingly Positive • 2,600+ reviews
  • 60+ brushes including fire, stars, animated neon — genuinely unique
  • Room-scale — walk through and around your own 3D artwork
  • OBJ / FBX / USD / GLTF export
  • All ages • No content concerns
  • Google committed to permanent store availability
  • Available at deep discounts via Humble Bundle and similar
Considerations
  • No updates since Jan 2021 • Discontinued
  • $29.99 — Open Brush is free with same core experience
  • Google Poly sharing community closed June 2021
  • Some compatibility issues reported on newer headsets
  • No multiplayer (single user only)
  • For new purchases: Open Brush is objectively the better choice
Tilt Brush (existing owners)
$29.99
Steam • Meta Quest • PSVR • No updates since 2021
View on Steam →
Open Brush (recommended)
Free
★ Recommended for new school purchases
Steam • Meta Quest • Web browser • Actively maintained • v2.8 Aug 2024
Get Open Brush free (Steam) → Get Open Brush free (Meta) →
Quick Facts
Developer (Tilt Brush)
Skillman & Hackett / Google (2015–2021)
Price (Tilt Brush)
$29.99 (Steam / Meta)
Status
Discontinued Jan 2021 • Open-sourced
Developer (Open Brush)
Icosa Foundation (community open-source)
Price (Open Brush)
Free (Steam / Meta / web)
Open Brush version
2.8 (August 2024)
Platform (both)
Meta Quest • Steam • PSVR
Open Brush extra
Web browser • Desktop monoscopic mode
Brushes
60+ (fire, stars, neon, smoke, paint, ink)
Multiplayer
No (single user only)
Export
OBJ • FBX • USD • GLTF / GLB
Verdict
Tilt Brush invented the genre and its 60+ brush types — fire, stars, animated neon, smoke — remain unmatched in expressive range for VR 3D painting. The 92% Overwhelmingly Positive rating from 2,600+ reviewers is a genuine signal of creative quality that doesn't expire with the discontinuation. For schools that already own it: continue using it, check compatibility on current headsets, and point students to Icosa Gallery for community work. For schools making a new purchase: choose Open Brush instead. It is free, built from the same codebase, actively maintained with new features including desktop monoscopic mode, and available on the same platforms. There is no longer a financial or creative argument for paying $29.99 for Tilt Brush when Open Brush exists.