If you haven’t checked out Pencil – Learn to Draw, you need to. They’ve just released a new update that not only has a new mural feature, but makes using the whole app so much easier and smoother to use.
You can watch the video below where I show all of the updates with actual gameplay. Or read further below where I outline what has been updated and how it enhances the game.
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What is “Pencil – Learn to Draw”
Pencil or Pencil – Learn to Draw is a mixed reality app that not only teaches you how to draw, but lets you choose things you want to draw, upload your own photos as reference, and with their latest update, allows you to project an image onto whatever surface you would like in order to create small pieces of artwork all the way up to massive full size murals on a wall.
I was already a fan of Pencil before this update and have spent many hours on it. But with this new update, I wanted to go over what has improved and show you the new features. Let’s go through them one by one.
Improved Workflow for Tracing Imported Images
I instantly noticed imported images being displayed smoother and quicker than with the previous version. Choose images from your Quest, from the game, or directly from your Google Drive (which we will talk about in a moment). The variety of ways that you can get your reference images into the game make it very simple to work with.
Saved Session Progress
If you need to break up your sessions with Pencil and are worries about having to realign everything again on start up, fear no more. When you quit Pencil, and not just put it to sleep, but fully quit the game, it saves your spot. When you open it back up, you’ll see it will ask you if you would like to continue the Mural that you were working on. It will then bring up your area on the same surface you were working on (as long as you are beside it) and you can jump right back into it. This is really handy and will save artists a lot of time.
Google Drive Importing
You can now connect directly to your Google Drive to import videos. You will have to give it permissions (and it might resist) but it will work. I ended up having to sign in one time, then sign out, and then when I signed in again all of my photos came up to be available for use. It is still a little in the experimental phase so we can cut the devs some slack.
Depth Based Calibration Mode
Previously, on Pencil, you needed to be able to click and hold in the physical spot where you wanted your borders to be. Now, with depth based calibration mode, you can control the borders from a distance with the new distance click interaction. For small artworks, this won’t be a noticeable change, but for murals, this is a game changer. Before you would have had to have a ladder set up or something to click and physically drag your corners to the right spot. Now you can just stand back and make the adjustments you need.
Advanced Image Adjustments
Now you can adjust the images you are using in a wide variety of ways. This will allow you to change the height, wide, depth, and so much more. Sometimes the auto calibrator won’t make your image perfectly flat, but not with these advanced adjustments, you can tilt the top, bottom, right, or left side in order to make it perfectly flat on your surface. These are all key features that make creating a mural so much easier.
Distance Click Interaction
Before the update, you either have to touch the buttons with your fingers or with the controller. There wasn’t a way to interact with buttons, menus, etc. at a distance. Now you can sit back and interact with objects, buttons, and menus from far away. This is an important update for the Depth Calibration mode but is also really handy while working on large or small projects. It was definitely tedious having to press buttons before but now it is really easy.
Hand Tracking Improvements
The last part of the update I will discuss here is the improved hand tracking. I noticed a big difference here too. Previously, my hand would have to be in the right form in order to push the buttons with my fingers, or sometimes the grab would be off. I went through and tested each of these quite thoroughly with the new update and didn’t once have an issue. I was really impressed with how much the hand tracking has improved.
Final Thoughts
As I’ve mentioned throughout, I am really impressed with this update. It is quite clear that the developers of Pencil are taking their app seriously and want to continue to improve it. Not only is their update better but we’ve also been seeing new monthly drawing packs. These allow you to learn to draw new things and expand your drawing capabilities.
Pencil – Learn to Draw is one of the best mixed reality experiences available. I highly recommend it and after this new update, I can’t wait to see what else they have in store for us!
