Last Updated: January 4th, 2022
Update Notes: Article is released.
Note: (9/20/2023) This article needs to be revised/updated. Proceed with caution.
Overview
So, you've finished your 3D sketch using Google's Tilt Brush, and you want to add it to your Unity project? Is that right? Well, thankfully this article will go over precisely how to do that! In that case, let's get started.
Exporting from Tilt Brush
1. First step would be to open up Tilt Brush, whether on one of the EML's VR Stations (HTC Vive), Oculus headsets, or your own personal VR headset.
2. Open up the sketch you would like to export, ensure that it's loaded in and looks correct. For this article, I've quickly drawn up a campfire asset that I will be bringing into an empty Unity project.
3. Now looking at your Menu panels on your controller, point and hover over the Tilt Brush logo at the bottom of your Menu panels using your other VR controller.
4. Hover over the button with the medal icon labelled "Advanced Mode". You will need this activated to export a project. This will also expand your range of available tools in the Menu panels above.
5. Now hover over the three dots marked "More Options".
6. Click on "Labs", with the beaker icon.
7. And finally, click on "Export" on the bottom right.
8. Once you see this message, your export should have been successful!
Perfect! Next step, is to find your newly exported file(s).
Finding the Exported Files
1. If you are working in one of the EML's VR suites, you will be using the Windows operating system. With that in mind, you will first need to navigate to your "Documents" folder.
2. Now go into the "Tilt Brush" folder.
3. Then go under "Exports".
4. Then find the folder bearing the name of your recently exported Tilt Brush sketch. Open that up, as well!
5. Now something you should note is that the PC version of Tilt Brush exports your sketches as an FBX, GLB, JSON, and USD. Please note that we are using the PC version of Tilt Brush for this article, whereas the Oculus version only exports projects in GLB. For this example, we'll be using the FBX export.
6. Open the FBX folder and ensure your exported file is present.
Wonderful! Assuming everything has gone smoothly, your next order of business is to set up your Unity project, making sure it's ready to import your exported Tilt Brush sketch.
Setting up the Unity Project
1. Now, if you are starting a fresh Unity project, click the dropdown arrow next to the blue "New" button and make sure you are using the 2019 LTS version.
2. Once your Unity project has been created, the Unity editor will open. Next, open up a browser of your choice.
3. Download the .unitypackage file from the latest version of the tilt-brush-toolkit Unity SDK. The reason we're using the 2019 Unity LTS is that it is the last supported version by this Unity package. There is no guarantee that this will work within subsequent versions of Unity. So, if you are using anything beyond 2019 LTS, proceed at your own peril.
4. Locate the tilt-brush-toolkit Unity package file, in your "Downloads" folder, and either double-click on it or click and drag it into your Unity editor window.
5. You will then be prompted by Unity to confirm you'd like to import the packaged files into your project. Since we're starting from a fresh project, you should be safe to press the "Import" button on the bottom right corner. However, if you are introducing Tilt Brush assets in the middle of an pre-existing project and need this SDK imported, back-up your Unity project directory before importing the Tilt Brush Toolkit Unity SDK. It's better to be safe than sorry with these types of projects!
6. And now we wait for everything to be imported in...
Importing into Unity
7. Once the Unity package has been fully imported and there are no errors flooding your console window, go to Assets then Import New Asset. Alternatively, navigate to where your Tilt Brush export is located like we did earlier.
8. Now either select the file, if you're importing into Unity, or click and drag directly from the folder and into the Unity editor window.
9. Confirm that your Tilt Brush asset has been imported successfully by finding it in Unity's Asset browser.
10. Now as a final test, click and drag it into your level and voila, your Tilt Brush project should now properly appear in your level, and be usable throughout your Unity project! With that, you should be able to simply export and bring in however many Tilt Brush assets into the same Unity project, as needed!
Congratulations! Assuming all went well without issue, you are now free to draw yourself new assets in Tilt Brush, import them into Unity, and then use them in your project. With that, best of luck and enjoy!