Drawing is something that most people have engaged in at some point in their lives. Many people have ideas. But not many people, relatively speaking, can express those ideas in three dimensions. Most of us draw in two dimensions. The gap in the knowledge needed between the formation of an idea and creation of a 3D digitial model, let alone a 3D print, means that most people may need a helping hand. 3D model marketplace CG Trader and 3D Print Shop Shapeways have teamed up to offer that helping hand.
Getting involved in 3D printing certainly doesn’t mean that the user needs to have a 3D printer themselves. There are many ways to get a 3D print of your idea. One of them is to use a professional 3D printing service bureau such as Shapeways. They, and a number of their rivals, offer a service whereby your ideas can be turned from concepts to 3D printed reality via the help of professional designers. Shapeways calls this ‘Designers For Hire.’
As an alternative approach, 3D model marketplace CGTrader has teamed up with Shapeways and has launched a campaign called ‘Flat Is Boring.’ Users can upload their two dimensional, flat concept work, and CGTrader will transform the design into a three dimensional file. Then Shapeways will turn the file into tangible reality by 3D printing the design and delivering it to your doorstep.
The top ten designs that are upvoted by the participant community will be printed. There has already been a very wide range of ideas, from children’s drawings to photo-edited portraits, comedy memes to home-made anime characters.
According to CG Trader: ‘People are always bursting with ideas and [we] believe that anyone deserves a chance to experience, touch and feel what 3D printing is really capable of. Therefore, people from all around the world will have the opportunity to demonstrate their creativity by sharing even the craziest thoughts that will later be turned into real objects, as pure evidence that ideas can be touched and sensed.’
There is a month to go for those who wish to participate to upload their flat designs to be brought into glorious three dimensional reality. You can catch the ‘Flat Is Boring’ campaign here.
