SOFTWARE: GRAVITY SKETCH

Sal Belay, London

Glen Southern replies

A few more points and creased edges can make a massive difference to designs

Gravity Sketch is now well embedded into the design world, especially among footwear and automotive designers. It’s a 3D virtual reality app for modelling and visualisation that evolved from humble beginnings on the iPad. The developers took a gamble and jumped into VR fairly early on, and made a version of Gravity Sketch for the HTC Vive and the original Oculus Quest.

Fast-forward seven years and Gravity Sketch can be used on a range of devices, but the great advance is that it can be used for free and standalone on the Meta Quest 3. That means users aren’t shelling out for a high-end PC with an expensive graphics chip as well as the headset.

The core tools in Gravity Sketch were originally spline and surface-based, which is more like programs such as Fusion 360 than Maya, as a direct example. The CAD-based beginnings then evolved into a full-fledged 3D modelling package with the addition of subdivision modelling tools. This meant it was possible to model your designs with true polygons that could be predictably exported for a wider range of uses such as 3D printing, games and AR experiences. It made the whole experience better, as you could do more with the models without relying on weak conversion algorithms to make the geometry usable.