VR-Doh: Hands-on 3D Modeling in Virtual Reality

Zhaofeng Luo	Zhitong Cui	Shijian Luo	Mengyu Chu	Minchen Li

ACM Trans. Graph. (2025)

We introduce VR-Doh, an open-source, hands-on 3D modeling system that enables intuitive creation and manipulation of elastoplastic objects in Virtual Reality (VR). By customizing the Material Point Method (MPM) for real-time simulation of hand-induced large deformations and enhancing 3D Gaussian Splatting for seamless rendering, VR-Doh provides an interactive and immersive 3D modeling experience. Users can naturally sculpt, deform, and edit objects through both contact- and gesture-based hand-object interactions. To achieve real-time performance, our system incorporates localized simulation techniques, particle-level collision handling, and the decoupling of physical and appearance representations, ensuring smooth and responsive interactions. VR-Doh supports both object creation and editing, enabling diverse modeling tasks such as designing food items, characters, and interlocking structures, all resulting in simulation-ready assets. User studies with both novice and experienced participants highlight the system's intuitive design, immersive feedback, and creative potential. Compared to existing geometric modeling tools, VR-Doh offers enhanced accessibility and natural interaction, making it a powerful tool for creative exploration in VR.

Zhaofeng Luo, Zhitong Cui, Shijian Luo, Mengyu Chu, Minchen Li (2025). VR-Doh: Hands-on 3D Modeling in Virtual Reality. ACM Trans. Graph., 44(4).

@article{luo2025vrdoh,
author = {Zhaofeng Luo and Zhitong Cui and Shijian Luo and Mengyu Chu and Minchen Li},
title = {VR-Doh: Hands-on 3D Modeling in Virtual Reality},
year = {2025},
issue_date = {July 2025},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {New York, NY, USA},
volume = {44},
number = {4},
issn = {0730-0301},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3731154},
doi = {10.1145/3731154},
journal = {ACM Trans. Graph.},
month = july,
numpages = {12},
keywords = {Virtual Reality, 3D Modeling, Elastoplasticity Simulation, Material Point Method, Human-Computer Interaction}
}