Hi,
With this large update, we introduce a bunch of new features which were requested the most by our users—artists, animators, directors, all kinds of storytellers and fellow believers in Virtual Reality content creation.
Tvori was initially designed and developed to enable anyone to create stories and art in VR, the first version of Tvori released in 2016, following with more major updates in 2017. With a focus on the simplicity and speed of creation, we introduced an intuitive and friendly user interface, where users learn by doing. This simple and direct approach led Tvori to the forefront of real-time animation in VR, giving our users a way to bring characters to life.
Though we will keep pushing to further improve our real-time animation mode, we strive to improve Tvori for multiple workflows, so in addition to real-time animation, we are introducing Keyframe Animation with 3D curves editing. This highly requested feature will give our more advanced users more control over object and character motion, allowing for smooth and precise animation. So, you can now switch between the two modes to suit your personal workflow!
Asset importing was another among the most requested updates by our users. Tvori now supports the import of 3D models, (.OBJ format), images (.jpeg, .png formats), and sounds (.wav, .mp3, .ogg). In the beta build of Tvori, we have added import of FBX and gLTF as well as skinned meshes, allowing you to start the animation of your skinned mesh straight after importing via an auto-rigging system, an update to be released in the near future. You can also record a video inside Tvori by means of our camera system and export 2D video and screenshots.
Another significant update is all about working with sounds—you can import custom sounds and tracks, but what is probably even more exciting for our team is you can now create sounds inside Tvori using a microphone inside a VR headset. Also, you can work with sound on the timeline and in space, creating a draft sound design for a story, or add character voicing during the previz stage in Tvori and replace with final sound in production.
Many of our users asked for customization options when animating their puppets, so we added assets to the internal library to decorate and customize the default puppet. You can now create unique characters by selecting an object from the library or importing any accessory you want. Also, you can now separately color every part of the puppet, or even replace parts of the body with any other object by using the context menu binding tool.
The above two features—working with sound and character customization—enable users to create their stories all within VR without needing to remove the headset, allowing to concentrate on the creation process. Together with the import of custom models, sounds and images, coupled with the ability to replace draft audio recorded in Tvori with the final sound, our users have more freedom than ever before to create unique content in VR!
As Tvori continues to progress, we see the goal of all future updates and enhancements to enable the production process all from within VR—from pre-visualization to a final output, integrating Tvori into the full production pipeline. Tvori can be used at any stage of idea prototyping and further on in combination with modeling tools such as Google Blocks, Masterpiece VR, or Oculus Medium, create finalized content by using those assets with the animation tools of Tvori.
To assist in helping our users become more familiar with the new updates going forward, we launched a tutorial page on our website at www.tvori.co/tutorials. You can also play video tutorials inside Tvori when you see a question mark “?” next to an object, and press it with your controller.
We believe that the future it is not far away when any animated story, cartoon or film can be created in VR from the beginning to the end. This is more and more becoming a reality, thus we continue forward on our mission to inspire people to share their ideas, dreams, and stories in VR with Tvori!