Today, Autodesk announced the launch of 123D Sculpt+, a new app that “enables users to create fantastic 3D sculptures and bring them to life with an in-app 3D print ordering option.”You can use 123D Sculpt+ on iOS and Android (2nd Android app for 123Dapps). If you are familiar with the original version of the app, you know the way it works: you choose a shape from the library and, using multi-touch sculpting tools, alter the shape in whatever way you see fit.
As a digital sculptor, you can push, pull, grab, bulge, and smooth out your creation as though your digital model were a physical one. You can paint them, save them as snapshots, or create short movies and animations, which you can then immediately share, save or upload.
In 123D Sculpt +, Autodesk has added new starting forms such as skeletons, base shapes, and fully textured, example sculptures. In the video, you can see a cool, little frog being created from the skeleton out.
Let’s look at some of the new features. The “pose tool” allows users to add movable joints for posing sculptures. Users can now style models with photorealistic digital materials,such as chrome and clay, and combine them to get new textures, adjusting the paint and sheen as they go.
They can alsoadd surface detail using color texture brushes. And the new preview functionality gives them the abilityto“view sculptures in the community in full 3D without needing to downloading them.”
On 123D Sculpt+, if you want to change which Autodesk design software you are using or more familiar with, you can export your creatures as OBJ files with their textures intact to other programs such as Autodesk Maya or 3ds Max.
Basically, what Autodesk is doing for you hereis taking a lot of the initial effort out of creating a dynamic 3D model and leaving you with a lot of options to choose from when you are finished.
Adding more functionality is always welcome in the 123D suite, being that it is free to use. This suite includes a variety of great tools that are getting easier to implement. 123D Design, 123D Make, 123D Catch, 123D Circuits, Tinkercad, Meshmixer, and Project Shapeshifter.
Once you are done exploring the free versions, there is a premium version available in monthly or yearly subscriptions, which you can upgrade to if you wish.
Autodesk is getting involved with 3D printing more and more, since they announced the open software platform Spark, their SLA 3D printer Ember, and the 100 million dollar Spark Initiative. And all of this is on top of a variety of interesting partnership, recently including Hewlett Packard, whichannounced that it will be using Spark with their Multi Jet Fusion 3D printers (coming in 2016).
Don’t forget about REAL 2015, the Reality Computing Event that is sure to make waves at the end of February.
