The New Easy-to-Use Gravity Sketch 3D Modelling App for the iPad is Now Available

One of the barriers to a wider adoption of 3D technology is the difficulty of creating 3D printable models. For many people who may be interested in creating 3D models, using most CAD software packages often makes that difficult or impossible. While there are several 3D modelling software options that have tailored themselves for beginners and new users, they often still require a steep learning curve. Given the growing ease that 3D printing technology is finally starting to offer to consumers, 3D model generation needs to continue to make itself more accessible to the average user.

Gravity Sketch, a London-based startup, is launching what they hope is a truly user-friendly CAD program that just about anyone can use to create 3D models. The Gravity Sketch 3D design platform was created to easily transform users’ ideas from basic sketches into 3D objects that can be shared online on social media or Sketchfab, and even 3D printed. The intuitive sketching tool will let anyone get started with 3D creation, and is ideal for students or teachers, kids who want to 3D print their own toys or hobbyists who want to easily create 3D printable creations.

“As ways to consume 3D content are exploding with mega trends like VR, AR and 3D printing, there is a growing need for super easy ways to create 3D content. Gravity Sketch is beautifully answering that need, by offering a very intuitive way to sketch in 3D with a touch screen. We are very excited to get integrated in this great app as a publishing and sharing solution,” says Co-Founder & CEO of Sketchfab Alban Denoyel.

The Gravity Sketch app includes a set of simple tools that turn sketches into fully rendered 3D shapes in seconds. The goal is to lower the barriers to 3D literacy and expand the ability of any user to create and manipulate 3D content. As the prices of 3D printers continue to drop and the impending rise of Virtual Reality technology, we believe that 3D literacy is more important than ever and will be a vital skill in a wide variety of industries.

Gravity Sketch lets anyone turn a sketch into a 3D printed model.

3D models are used by professionals of all kids to visualize products or designs, to communicate ideas, to prototype new products and eventually turn them into real object. The Gravity Sketch team wants to offer this power of near instant materialization to everyone by offering software solution that is fun and easy to use. 3D objects designed with Gravity Sketch can instantly be used for animation, or even 3D printed. To make 3D printing easier, they have partnered with Shapeways so users can instantly order 3D prints of their creations directly from within the App, and they will be shipped to them in just 2 days.

“As 3D printing becomes more accessible to the public, there needs to be an easy, fun way for anyone to create 3D models. Gravity Sketch has huge potential to get more people into 3D modeling because it is intuitive and enabling for everyone. By bringing down a common barrier many people face, the 3D printing industry will continue to grow and we’ll see even more amazing 3D printed products come from this,” said Pieter Limburg, Head of Business Development at Shapeways.

Here is some video of the app in action:

The Gravity Sketch startup was founded in 2014 by Guillaume Couche, Pierre Paslier, Daniela Paredes Fuentes and Oluwaseyi Sosanya while they were still students at the Royal College of Art. They have gone on to speak about the future of creation at several TEDx events, co-organized 3D creation nights at the Tate Britain in London and developed the amazing LegoX software project that converts LEGO creations into 3D models. The startup is being supported by InnovationRCA, UnLtd SeeChange and the James Dyson Foundation. They are also  part of the San Francisco-based Founder.org startup acceleration program.

Gravity Sketch hopes to do for 3D content generation what Arduino has done for electronics and programming accessibility. The beta release of the Gravity Sketch 3D modelling app is now available for the iPad and iPad Pro in the App Store. They are also working on releasing a beta version for the VR platform Oculus Rift and developing an alpha version in Augmented Reality. Discuss in the Gravity Sketch Makes 3D Modeling Easier forum over at 3DPB.com.