With 3D models taking up huge amounts of memory, it’s difficult for designers to display the true depth of their products over the Internet without the clunky and cumbersome method of .zip files and multiple screen shots of their renderings. CL3VER is a new start-up, operating out of Barcelona, Spain and Palos Altos, California, that hopes to bring a new dimension of interactivity to 3D modeling across the web via their cloud-based application.
CL3VER is an online tool where users can upload their 3D models, scenes, and animations where others can see and interact with them. After storing everything you want to display on CL3VER’s cloud, you can share them via Facebook or links, so that friends or clients can see them live at the CL3VER site or, more impressively, you can embed your scenes into your own website. Others can then explore your virtual world and manipulate your virtual objects, seeing them from all angles.
After messing around with the free trial, I found that it was pretty straightforward and easy to use, if you’re already familiar with 3D modeling programs. You can easily drag and drop objects and textures into your scene. I found myself having trouble with applying textures to objects, but I think that, as the product moves out of Beta, they’ll have a pretty finished product that industrial designers and architects will find very useful for sharing projects with clients or embedding work into online portfolios.
The major concern I have with CL3VER is its claim to “democratize the creation of real-time 3D and 3D rendering through a ‘all in one’ cloud platform.” I sort of think that the word “democratize” is being thrown around a lot and that CL3VER might be using it inappropriately. The company’s packages start at $19.95/month, which allows for 500 unique visitors to your site, with “unique visitors [defined] by CL3VER as a five Mb download from an individual visitor to the posted content.” Because the tool is meant for sharing 3D objects and not designing them, it does not have any editing capability, so it is still necessary to have a 3D modeler to produce your own objects and scenes, which can be extremely expensive (Maya costs about $3,675), if you’d prefer something more polished than the open-source Blender or the free Sketch-Up.
So, it’s probably not all that democratic, but it’s at least pretty cool. You can play around with their car configurator here or you can start a free trial and upload as many 3D Batmans or sculptures of your significant other as your heart desires.
