Paint augmented artwork and leave behind messages for others via this collaborative AR experience.
Have you ever wished you could use the endless landscape of the sky as a blank canvas for you to display your artwork or write messages for the world to see?
You are a not alone in that wish. The developers over at Kevaid share your pie-in-the-sky dreams and have released an AR app called Blue Sky Paint that can transform the skies above you into an untouched floating canvas for you to scribble out messages, doodle, or paint your digital masterpiece.
Although it may sound strikingly similar to Google’s Just a Line drawing app, Blue Sky Paint manages to stand out as the first and only app with Sky Occlusion technology. A rendering technique that allows you to place your digital drawings into the sky – where they are able to interact with objects such as trees and buildings – Sky Occlusion works by having parts of your drawing disappear as you move in, near, or around real-world objects, effectively making your art look like it actually exists in the sky.
Because the app uses GPS location and compass orientation to work in tandem with your surroundings, you and your friends are able to inspect each others work, collaborate on art pieces, or have intense aerial art battles with unlimited possibilities. You could even send each other messages during an outdoor concert, or become a secret part of the show with local users by painting a digital ceiling above the band or any type of outdoor gathering – all in real-time.
Using the app is incredibly simple. Just point your smartphone up towards the sky and start drawing! To access other colors, simply point your phone towards the ground and you’ll see a palette of available colors for you to choose from. Draw a line or image you don’t like? A quick shake of your smartphone and it’s all undone.
So, what happens if someone draws something crude in the sky, or writes a message of hate? Not a problem. There’s a reporting feature built into the app that allows you to notify the developers so they can take the appropriate actions. Plus, the creative team has developed a process that pings them if something offensive was drawn or written through the app.
Connecting with friends is also very easy. Just invite them through the app! See a drawing that blows your mind and want to know who’s the artist responsible? Simply tap on the drawing to see which of your friends has been hiding a secret talent.
Exploring AR artwork in the sky is not just limited to your friends, however. Because the AR experience relies on GPS navigation, Blue Sky Paint lets you explore drawing from other users all around the world. Once you or someone has created artwork, it’ll remain digitally hung-in-place for everyone to see. You can literally leave your mark on the world and it becomes a digital landmark for people to discover.
While speaking with VRScout, Aidan Wolf, lead creator of Blue Sky Paint, further elaborated on the interesting concept: “The world itself is an incredible place and people travel around and visit physical landmarks all the time, so why not travel to a destination to visit digital landmarks? I would love to see users recommending to other users that they need to travel to Rio or Paris to check out a really cool Blue Sky Painting.”
Outside of leaving your artistic footprint cemented in the atmosphere, Blue Sky Paint could serve a variety of other inventive purposes. For instance, the app has the potential to be a really fun way to give friends directions to a secret party location by drawing arrows in the sky; or a great way of leaving inspirational messages for friends and family to stumble across throughout their day.
Perhaps you have a friend visiting, but you have to be at work a majority of the day and are unable to entertain. You could theoretically leave a variety of directions, recommendations, and other useful information about the local amenities planted throughout the neighborhood to better direct your unattended guest.
The app also has the potential to serve a variety of non entertainment purposes. According to the apps creators, one Japanese user even utilized Blue Sky Paint to create an SOS in the sky while they were trapped by a terrifying earthquake.
Blue Sky Paint is an AR experience that has the potential of becoming the next Pokémon Go; only in this experience, users are hunting artwork and messages rather than digital monsters.
It successfully gamifies AR with creativity, exercise, and social interaction, a feat not often accomplished by new mobile experiences.
An update available sometime next week will allow you to create usernames and improve the way you can connect and socialize with other users. Future updates will include the ability to mute other users, see the latest drawings that day, and even a “clean sky” to work with.
No matter how you use the Blue Sky Paint AR app – whether for fun, being social, or looking for help – you’ll really enjoy the app. It’s a well-rounded AR experience that is a step in the right direction for AR.
Art is limitless when the sky is your canvas.
Blue Sky Paint was built using Apple’s ARKit and is currently available as a free download on iOS devices via the Apple App Store. Android users can expect Blue Sky Paint in the very near future.
Image Credit: Kevaid
