Mar 24, 2016 | By Benedict

Gravity Sketch, a new 3D design and 3D printing app developed by a British startup of the same name, was launched today on the App Store. The app allows users to sketch simple 3D designs which can be sent immediately to Shapeways for 3D printing.

Whether in the form of 3D printed clothing, 3D printed art, or wacky 3D printed inventions, we see additive manufacturing technology used by creative types on a daily basis. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the marriage between artistic mastery and additive manufacturing is as happy as it could be. Many 3D printing experts don’t know the first thing about drawing, and many talented artists would be stumped if you loaded up slicing software on their computer.

Gravity Sketch, a new iPad app launching today on the App Store, aims to change all that. A far cry from the technical CAD programs used by most 3D designers today, Gravity Sketch aims to simplify 3D design, reducing it to an intuitive, imaginative creative process which culminates in a 3D printed delivery on your doorstep. Minimal settings, maximum enjoyment.

Using a process called “direct 3D generation”, Gravity Sketch allows users to doodle away with their fingers on the screen of an iPad, generating 3D objects in real time. Virtually no technical experience is needed to get started with the app, so artists can start unleashing their 3D creativity from the moment they install it. Intuitive brushes using simple symmetry algorithms allow users to sketch a 3D pyramid, web, donut, sausage, or virtually any other 3D shape with just a few flicks of the finger.

“We spoke with a lot of makers who told us they couldn’t express their creativity with the current 3D tools,” said  Oluwaseyi Sosanya, Gravity Sketch co-founder. “Direct 3D generation is a more intuitive interaction than your traditional 3D software. This is because creativity relies more on spatial intelligence than logical or linguistic intelligences which form the base of most 3D modeling softwares.”

Gravity Sketch was established in London in October 2013 as a group project between four Innovation Design Engineering students of the Royal College of Art. The company has received significant backing for its newly-launched app, from InnovationRCA, UnLtd SeeChange, and the James Dyson Foundation. The company is also a part of the San Francisco-based founder.org startup acceleration program.

Following today’s launch of the 3D sketching app, the Gravity Sketch team is hoping that its intuitive software finds its way into the hands of makers, artists, and—importantly—young children. With more and more schools using tablets like the iPad as a learning tool, and with 3D technologies such as virtual reality currently enjoying a huge rise in popularity, the Gravity Sketch team sees an opportunity for youngsters to get acquainted with 3D drawing, 3D printing, and everything else 3D at an early age. Who knows, it could be their first step towards a career in 3D printed art.

With a product arc covering tablets, augmented reality, and virtual reality, Gravity Sketch is aiming to become the go-to product 3D design, and with tie-ins with 3D design platform Sketchfab and global 3D printing marketplace Shapeways, the app seems well placed to do so. When Gravity Sketch users have completed a 3D design, they can send that design off to Shapeways, which will 3D print it and deliver it to the user in a matter of days. This process eliminates two off-putting steps in the 3D printing process: investing in a 3D printer, and preparing an unoptimized 3D design for 3D printing using slicing software.

"Ways to consume 3D content are exploding with mega trends like VR, AR and 3D printing,” said Alban Denoyel, Co-founder & CEO of Sketchfab. “There is a growing need for super easy ways to create 3D content. This app is beautifully answering that need, by offering a very intuitive way to sketch in 3D with a touch screen.”

The Gravity Sketch app is available to download for free from the App store.

 

 

Posted in 3D Software

 

 

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