On social media we tend to all end up breathing the same air as things go "viral." Half of my conversations with people go in the direction of "Oh, ha ha, yeah, that was good, I just saw that the other day!" The unique, "underground," feel of Newgrounds is one of the things that's kept me coming back here after all these years.
Every once in a while I stumble on something that deserves virality, but isn't quite there yet (I know... "what a HIPSTER!").
In this news post I'd like to share one such under-appreciated person with you (I just wish NG had a higher file-size threshold for animated .gifs so you could see the samples larger).
KUSHIRO (https://twitter.com/kushirosea)
From what I can tell, this guy is developing a tool/plugin for Blender (free 3D modeling software) that allows you to draw primitive shapes on a "grid" and then extrude those shapes into existence.
"Grid Modeler" $10 Blender Plugin: https://gumroad.com/l/VthLyO
This may not sound very revolutionary, but just check out the samples below.
The way he can rapidly "sketch" 3D mechanical models makes me drool... not to mention his solid design instincts for extruding, beveling, slicing, and notching everything in just the right way to make it look high-tech/futuristic but also convincingly-buildable/functional. I was not previously aware that this kind of rapid ideation was possible in 3D, the potential gets me kinda excited!
It's been fascinating to see Kushiro add new features to Grid Modeler over the last few months (like quick-tubes/pipes).
When I get some time I'm definitely going to delve into learning his tools in blender to see if I can develop some of the facility demonstrated in these samples.
Space Ship
Engine
Motorcycle
Enemy Mech
Future Sword
Wiesi
I remember 10-20 years ago I used Swift 3d for Flash (very simple 3d software). And if I understand your text right, you could do a similar procedure. First you drew something in Flash, then exported it as a .eps-file and then imported the eps into Swift 3d where it was possible to extrude those vector shapes into existence. :D
BoMToons
Yeah, similar concept, except bound by a "grid" so the lines end up being mostly mechanical/geometric (to start), and you can do the 2D drawing directly in the 3D space (and orient your grid wherever you want on any axis/rotation).