PaintBranch: Asynchronous Collaborative Art in Virtual Reality

We describe the development of PaintBranch, a virtual reality prototype designed to support asynchronous collaborative art. By incorporating version control (VC), PaintBranch aims to promote creative idea generation and reduce conflicts during collaboration. In a user study, eight participants were organized into four pairs and worked asynchronously for a week, with each participant having four painting sessions. We analyzed the emerging collaboration patterns and uses. Results indicated that experienced artists used these features effectively to meet collaborative and personal goals.