#what word describes a 3d square noodle brush stroke?? do i call it NOODLE????

[figminxr]

July 29 2023*

*posted August 8 2023 because I put this in my drafts and forgot about it lol

OK - this is going to mark the occasion of my First Realistic Devlog. That being - one where I actually record some of the more tedious aspects of my job (graphic design) + deeper thoughts about it. (It's not ACTUALLY all playing with holograms!)

Luckily, I have a secret passion in that I really, really love graphic design. It's one of the most powerful forms of art, which is why so many billions are spent on advertisement each year. It's scary powerful, is proven to influence the way we THINK (propaganda is graphic design), and reminds me why it's so important to Touch Grass every once and awhile.

ANYWAYS. My task right now is to 1) Make new brush icons, 2) Make new brush names, and 3) To write actual, helpful descriptions of what each brush does.

This is to make the app more accessible for non-artists! I want the "art" section of Figmin to be as fun-to-use and nonthreatening as Kid Pix. Figmin already does wonders for bringing out people's inner, creative child, (it's REAL HOLOGRAMS YOU CAN TOUCH. LIKE?!?) -- there are still some genuinely confusing bits of the Tilt Brush section that daunt the average, less art-program savvy person. For example, take this brush called Lofted:

What does this image, combined with the name "Lofted" even MEAN?!? What is a "Toon Tube"?! What is SUPERCOLOR???

Lots of icons are good and actually intuitive (Image from this article):

Others are a little.... less so. (Why are "Wire" and "Light Wire" VASTLY different brushes?! What is "Toon" supposed to be??? It makes 3D tubes with black outlines and is UGLY. I literally never use it. There is "Toon" discourse among Tilt Brush artists.)

Doing hundreds of public demos really taught me about what people liked... and what they struggled with - so I'm working very hard to make it as amazing as I can! It's honestly an honor to work on a program that has as much reach as Figmin XR does - to be recognized and approached by strangers because of it!!!! - and I wanna say we're trying to set the best example we can of what this new technology could REALLY be used for.

... Because it's gonna be used for a lot - and not all of it is gonna be good. I'm constantly thinking about Keiichi Matsuda's film "Hyper-Reality", which is a "bad end" vision of what AR glasses will be like, and I think it should be more widely known among developers. And just like... people in general. Think about what tech you consume, kids! 🫡

BUT YES. Brush icons. Tooltip names. Making new ones is hard!! I'm trying to exactly match the existing Tilt Brush style, while also attempting to include visual & naming information that makes every single brush as organized and easy-to-understand as humanly possible.

It's fun! But agonizing. 🫠