“So today we’re making available a set of 3D models produced by one of our team for download from Sketchfab. “The British Museum is fascinated by the potential of 3D to unlock new ways for people to interact with our collection – and love what Sketchfab are doing to power this market,” said Chris Michaels, Head of Digital Media & Publishing at the British Museum. To kick things off, the company has already teamed with several entities, helping to build their collection of downloadable models.
This is a major move by Sketchfab, which is sure to attract 3D printing enthusiasts, as well as video game developers in need of free 3D models. Now any user may choose whether they want to upload a model for viewing and embedding only, or if they’d like to allow other users the right to download that model under Creative Commons licenses. This has just changed, however, with their announcement today that they have launched a brand new download option.
That’s because the main point of the site was to embed and view 3D models, not download them. Up until this point, Sketchfab was not really a web destination that individuals or businesses would use if they wanted to find a 3D printable model. In additional to announcing this milestone, there are also several other interesting pieces of news coming from the company. Sketchfab, who has just announced that the 200,000th 3D model has been uploaded to their site, is one of the largest model repositories on the net. A venture-backed company with offices in both Paris and New York City, Sketchfab is also rapidly expanding, and has just made a major move to enter the 3D printing space. It turns out that CGTrader is not the only rapidly growing model repository. As we mentioned in that article, it will be the 3D printable models which drive the market for 3D printers, as content is king. Check out the ArchDaily House (above) and Alejandro Aravena Arquitectos' Ordos House (after the break).Earlier this morning we touched on an announcement from CGTrader, one of the leaders in the 3D modelling space. We’ve uploaded and embedded some models to give you a better of sense of the way Sketchfab works. And Sketchfab’s platform has an integrated comment and like system to foster discussion and critique. It will be particularly valuable in the remote review process that occurs between the architect and 3D visualizers. Not only will this allow architects to showcase finalized projects, but designs can be followed as they evolve and change. lwo and others) these models can then be embedded anywhere. Users sign up for Sketchfab and upload models directly in 27 native 3D formats (including. A resource like this allows any viewer or reader to glimpse into the future of publishing and communicating architecture online. It’s called Sketchfab, and it displays 3D models natively in the browser - no plugins necessary, and no need to download to your desktop. An exciting new tool, however, might just change this. ArchDaily’s Architecture App Guide will introduce you to web and mobile apps that can help you as an architect: productivity, inspiration, drafting, and more.ģD computer modeling has become a ubiquitous tool in architecture and design, but - even now - there’s no real solution to the problem of easily displaying or sharing models.