Autodesk introduces new 123D Sculpt+—a new app for sculpting and 3D printing

This week Autodesk celebrated the release of 123D Sculpt+, a new app that enables anyone, but particularly students, to create fantastic 3D sculptures and bring them to life with an in-app 3D print ordering option.

Where it is biomorphic creates or real ones on earth, like the frog example shown below, students can get involved in the 3D printing and making revolution with this latest app for both Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms. “If you can imagine it, you can sculpt it in 123D Sculpt+,” says Autodesk.

Autodesk 123D Sculpt+ Details

The new app includes starting skeleton forms to help digital sculptors begin the process of creating living objects like animals. These forms are base shapes with fully textured example sculptures.

The app features a brand new color picker with scrolling favorites, a new “pose tool” that allows users to add pose able joints on sculptures, Photorealistic Materials library where users can choose from things such as chrome to clay, and use materials that range from rough to shiny, and new texture brushes to add additional surface detail.

01 – Autodesk 123D Sculpt+ is the latest version of the mobile app and adds in-app 3D printing options. (image: courtesy of Autodesk. All rights reserved.)

The app also includes enhanced Pixlr filters to further stylize their creations, a new preview functionality so users can view sculptures on the community in full 3D without needing to download them, plus export options for OBJ files with textures for use in other 3D tools such as Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max, as well as non-Autodesk 3D tools of which there are many.

To learn more and tryout the app visit here for Apple devices and here for Google.

Architosh Analysis

This is technically an continuation of the original 123D Sculpt app introduced by Autodesk in 2013 and is now at version 2.0 officially with this latest release. The 123D family of apps include three others in Design, Make and Catch (as in 123D Make…). With Autodesk’s interest in 3D printing ramping up significantly this ability to in-app order 3D prints directly through the application is looking very reminiscent of the photo book revolution that was built into desktop apps such as Apple’s iPhoto. The question becomes, who is doing the actual printing? Who is going to emerge as the 3D printing version of Kodak Labs?