Some of my recent research has been on mimicking “design sketch” visual styles in a new ShapeShop renderer. This work will be presented at the Non-Photorealistic Animation and Rendering Symposium (also known as NPAR 2007) in August. After that, I’ll be staying for SIGGRAPH. If you are interested in the paper, you can grab a copy here - there are some pictures too. If you’d like to see the renderer in action, I’ve also put up a “tech demo” - a hacked-up version of ShapeShop v002 that uses this new renderer. You can grab that from the ‘Extras’ page. I would not advise saving any models you create with this version, though - the “.ssn” save format will not be supported by ShapeShop v003. You’ve been warned.

A preliminary pen-and-ink renderer is already available in ShapeShop v002, although it is a bit hidden - select “NPR Mode” from the View menu to enable it. The new renderer has been improved quite a bit - in particular, the pen-and-ink rendering is quite a bit faster. We’ve also added some new “visual scaffolding” features. Check it out (there is a larger version here):

In preparation for the release of ShapeShop v003 sometime in the near future, ShapeShop has moved to a new home - ShapeShop3D.com! Besides being easier to remember, the new website has forums! That’s right - your suggestions, bug reports, and vicious flames can now be posted on “the internets”, for all to see! The new site also has several informative new pages, a variety of download buttons (with drop-shadows!), and a development blog (which you’re reading right now!). At some unspecified point in the future, there will also be a gallery of user-submitted artwork, and technical explanations of ShapeShop features. (Don’t hold your breath, though…SIGGRAPH season starts in October…)

Welcome to ShapeShop3D.com, your new favorite website.