INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Drew Weigel, the executive producer of 3D at Shutterstock, tells us how to increase your skill in 3D design by learning more about the metaverse
A lot of times when I talk to artists about the metaverse, I think back to when social media became more widespread. We already had radio, television, newspapers and the internet, but now we had a handful of new online channels to connect with others. And of course, companies followed along to get their products and services in front of those audiences.
The metaverse isn’t too different from that, which can be a little refreshing if you’re confused about what it is. If you’re new to it, a metaverse is an online real-time 3D space shared by multiple people. An easy way to sort them is by if they are or aren’t on the blockchain. Ones that don’t incorporate blockchain or NFTs include
Roblox and Fortnite. Users have an avatar in these worlds they can customise with items earned or bought in a store run on its unique economy. These worlds are by far the most popular, and if you have young kids, you’ve probably heard of them.
Metaverses integrating blockchain into their service include Decentraland and The Sandbox. These are generally defined as Web3 services where a user has decisionmaking power and total control over their data. Metaverses using blockchain technology typically sell parcels of land that any person or company can purchase to create unique experiences in them.
The metaverse can be a mysterious online world for many people, partially because it’s currently a collection of different platforms, each with its own strategy for user adoption. Recognisable companies like Gucci, Coca-Cola, and Nike have designed clothes for metaverse worlds, particularly because there’s such a large emphasis on ownership of items within them. Music artists like Ariana Grande and Lil Nas X have also performed larger-thanlife concerts in the metaverse and streamed directly to users using real-time augmented reality (AR) technology.
A future vision of the metaverse is to have a unified identity between worlds. Utilising blockchain tech, users could move to different communities using their same avatar and bring their digital goods with them from world to world. They could even sell their goods to others in the community.
It can be easy to get overwhelmed by all of the platforms and how they utilise these technologies, but having worked in production for as long as I have, I think of the metaverse as just another content stream. It’s a new way of engaging with people where they are, especially an openminded Gen Z audience that often discovers brands through these new experiences. While the metaverse may currently seem a little cryptic, I’m willin
