What do the story of an uprooted plant, the tale of a bagpipe-playing sloth and a story of generation, identity, and oranges all have in common? They’re all the creations of a group of 3D artists and storytellers who took part in a hackathon held over three days at the University of Glasgow in November 2021.  

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The hackathon brought together three teams of artists who were strangers before the event to use a combination of 3D modelling tools and Edify’s VR platform in order to create 3D picture books. All three teams completed the hackathon and were able to create prototypes of their 3D storybooks. So, what did they create?

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Creators Sam Hayes, Thi Thu Hang Phi and Davide Ceriani created Uprooted, a short but uplifting story of how a plant was able to flourish even after being taken from its forest home, while Malak Abdel Ghaffar, Elvira Mishra, Zbigniew Jedrzejewski and Max Wardle created Where Are You?, a short story that uses oranges to explore identity and personal roots. Molly Abuthnott, Julia Hajduczyk, Isabella Bushko and Jonathan Formosa worked together to make Simon the Sloth, a story about a slow but persistent bagpiping sloth who travels the world to perfect his bagpipe skills.

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Edify CEO and co-founder Martin McDonnell was part of the panel evaluating the competition but, more importantly, offered to give guidance and real-life direction to the next generation of 3D creators. “Edify isn’t just a tool or a platform,” Martin says, “it’s a brilliant space for 3D artists and creators to develop their skills. Edify is the place for showcasing the ways in which VR could be used to change perspective and influence the meanings being made. And that’s really important to me personally and to us as a company — that we can provide this space for up-and-coming talent to develop themselves, and that we can provide new and innovative ways to look at ideas, contexts and situations.”    

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You can find out more about how 3D modellers create the kind of 3D models that make Edify such an immersive experience here. Or, take Edify’s free BETA for a spin and see it for yourself. You don’t need a headset to experience the magic of VR – our BETA works on desktops as well!

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