Open Brush 3D drawing practice as a therapeutic tool
A collaborative VR drawing practice developed by coVR Videos with Asociația Entuziart using Open Brush as a tool for embodied artistic exploration, expressive-creative therapy, and reflection on the creative process.
Konrad Mihat (coVR Videos) and Loredana Larionescu (Entuziart Association) began this practice in 2024 within the framework of Emoții prin Culoare și Muzică (Emotions through Color and Music), an ongoing cultural project developed by Entuziart at Sf. Nicolae Special School in Bucharest. The collaboration brought together immersive media production and psychotherapeutic practice in a shared methodology for 3D drawing in virtual reality.
Open Brush is a free and open source application that allows users to draw in a three-dimensional space around them, using multiple types of brushes. Some replicate real-life drawing tools, while others like snowflakes, electricity, fire, offer possibilities for lively, animated, active drawings. The uniqueness of drawing in VR opens up new methods of expression and a new way of reflecting on the creative process and its result.
The methodology integrates Transformational Body Tracing and somatic practices, adapted to varied audiences, from children and young people with special educational needs, to the general festival public, to communities with limited access to cultural infrastructure. The proposed workflow integrates reality gradually: through movement first, then through the 3D silhouette of participants, then through Transformational Body Tracing as a playful drawing session, with progressively more complex themes and tools introduced across sessions.
With Open Brush’s continuous development and new passthrough (see-through) technology, the application has become as much an augmented reality tool as a virtual one as surroundings remain visible and can be incorporated into the creative process.
As a digital tool, Open Brush records the full drawing process not only the final work. This adds insight into the creative workflow of each participant, offering reference material that other art therapy methods do not provide. The practice is iterative and adapts to each context, with every application contributing to the development of new exercises and approaches.
