MasterpieceVR recently released its latest set of VR creation tools which aim to get artists quickly sculpting and animating characters by hand from the comfort of their VR headsets.

Called Masterpiece Studio, the 3D content creation suite combines the 3D modeling software Masterpiece Creator with Masterpiece Motion, an animation software for rigging 3D models in VR.

MasterpieceVR first released its titular software for PC VR headsets back in late 2017, which notably included cross-platform multiuser support so artists on different platforms could sculpt and paint in VR together. In short, it’s a bit like the other big VR creation tools out there like Tilt Brush (2016), Oculus Medium (2017) or Quill (2017), except up to four artists can create collaboratively in VR whilst being viewed by up to 20 spectators.

Image courtesy MasterpieceVR

The company’s new software suite is however more focused on speeding up the process for individual creators looking to both build 3D models and animate them all while in VR, which aims to either compliment or replace extant creation tools entirely.

MasterpieceVR says it allows creators to go from conception to fully animated model 10 times faster than traditional desktop tools, which includes rigging, skinning, posing, and applying pre-made animations to a model.

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“Masterpiece Studio is a first of its kind VR creative suite that is a cost-effective solution to rapidly go from idea to usable 3D assets,” says Jon Gagne, MasterpieceVR CEO. “The suite’s feature set lets creators make professional 3D assets extremely fast and can be adopted into an existing workflow in just hours.”

Although MasterpieceVR is charging a monthly fee for commercially-minded teams and freelancers, non-commercial use is free of charge; the free version features the entire software suite, however it lacks the export function.

You can downloaded the free version from the company’s websiteSteam, and Viveport. It supports Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Windows VR headsets.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • cirby

    I just recently stopped using Adobe products because of their monthly payout, so I’m incredibly not interested in doing the same with any more software

    • Glen Moyes

      Especially when Masterpiece Studio costs about as much as an entire suite of art/design/video/audio/animation applications do. Subscription fatigue is a real thing, and it blocks out marginalized communities of artists from being able to use it.

      Why can’t marginalized creatives simply use the free version to learn it and pay when they start freelancing? I’ve seen this with Adobe Creative Cloud. If you can’t pay the fee that month, you lose your ability to create income. It’s a very likely scenario for people who are low-income or are part of disadvantaged communities. I’ve seen people unable to afford their Adobe subscription that month, and if I had not bailed them out, they wouldn’t have been able to continue working.

      Who’s going to bail out these creatives when their subscription software stops working?

      I think the model that Serif’s Affinity line of products has is ideal: pay once, no subscription, pay for major version upgrades. It’s the best of both worlds: developers get continuing revenue, and disadvantaged creatives never have the plug to their software pulled when they need it the most.

      • Gerald

        Just an FYI, MasterpieceVR is free to use, you don’t need the subscription unless you are wanting to use it professionally and make income off it.

        Subscription base is needed for most softwares otherwise they would just fall flat fairly quickly due to running out of money to fund the team.

        If it was entirely free you would never see any big updates let alone any in general. Companies don’t make much money off one time purchases.

        • cirby

          It’s “free to use,” you just can’t EXPORT with that version, whether you’re planning on making money or not.

          In other words, you can play around, work on models, and never use them outside of Masterpiece VR.

    • Raphael

      Yup and it looks like they’ve dramatically increased the subscription fee of this software. They will kill it.

      • Gerald

        Yup… Too expensive for a product that’s not even fully stable lol

  • Raphael

    https://www.masterpiecevr.com/contact

    ^^ contact them and offer feedback on their subscription fees,