Stencil VR

Stencil VR is an independent XR software studio developing mixed-reality creative tools for artists working on physical surfaces. Its flagship application, Stencil VR, helps muralists, painters, street artists, and crafters transfer digital reference imagery onto walls, canvases, floors, ceilings, and architectural surfaces through headset-based spatial projection.

Released for Meta Quest in 2024, the application replaces conventional projectors and paper-stencil workflows with scalable digital overlays that can be positioned, rotated, and anchored in a real environment. Artists can upload reference images through a companion workspace or load files from headset storage, then use the projected artwork as an in-situ tracing reference.

Spatial creative technology

The studio builds its products with Unity and OpenXR for mixed-reality hardware. Its technical approach addresses practical challenges involved in projecting artwork onto real-world environments, including passthrough distortion, spatial drift, non-planar surfaces, and hand visibility while painting.

Key capabilities include:

• Multi-anchor stabilization designed to maintain alignment across large walls and work areas
• A custom Precision Trace Camera intended to avoid headset reprojection issues
• Curved-surface wrapping for columns and three-dimensional structures
• Outline extraction and depth-calibration tools for adapting references to physical surfaces
• Hand tracking, gesture-based interfaces, and reverse-mask hand occlusion so users can see their hands and tools over the overlay

Stencil VR supports Meta Quest 2, Quest Pro, Quest 3, and Quest 3S. The company has also expanded its product line to Android XR with a local-only creative tracing application. Alongside headset software, its web workspace supports cloud image synchronization and device linking.

Operating as a distributed, remote-first team, Stencil VR focuses on software that connects spatial computing with hands-on visual practice, giving artists a portable alternative to traditional projection and tracing equipment.