Developing a frictionless web-based ar framework for visual artists: a scalable ecosystem

Visual artists face significant challenges in maintaining a digital presence as proprietary software ecosystems shift, necessitating a move toward platform-independent solutions. Furthermore, traditional art institutions struggle to engage audiences who resist the technical friction of downloading dedicated mobile applications, a process known to cause a 50% drop in user engagement. This research proposes a universal, frictionless Web-based Augmented Reality (WebAR) framework developed exclusively on the Kivicube platform. By leveraging Kivicube's no-code visual editor and professional-grade asset support, the framework enables visual artists to transform traditional 2D portfolios, including hand-drawn cartoonist sketches and fine-art watercolours, into interactive 3D experiences accessible via standard mobile browsers. This study evaluates the framework through case studies involving heritage preservation, watercolour storytelling, and commercial graphic toolkits. Results demonstrate that the framework preserves artistic integrity through texture displacement and provides a two-step Scan & Play journey, effectively democratising AR creation for the visual arts and reaching 3.5 billion devices. Keyword: Web-based AR, Augmented Reality, Visual Art