Spline was launched in 2020 to provide designers globally with a professional-grade and collaborative web-based 3D design tool. The platform enables the use of 3D for production uses by leveraging a 2D approach that users are familiar with through tools like Figma and Sketch.
Spline allows you to make beautiful materials, easily model objects and animate them in a snap. It can even be used to create interactive experiences for the web using live url, vanilla javascript or react code.
Creating 3D Scenes
Spline is a web-based program and is much simpler than other full 3D programs. This makes it a great tool for designers who don't have any prior experience with 3D.
It's easy to create 2D shapes and then modelize them in 3D. There are a number of effects you can apply to a shape to make it look more interesting. For example, you can add bevels to your corners to give them a more rounded appearance. Another cool effect is called Fresnel, which brightens the edges of your shape. This gives it that Looney Tunes look that many people love in 3D designs.
Once you're done designing your scene you can export it as a public URL, an image or a GIF. You can also embed it directly into your website through an iFrame.
Creating 3D Objects
Spline is web based which means you don’t need a souped up computer or deep 3D skills to use it. This makes it a more approachable design program for beginners than some of the bigger, more comprehensive programs on the market.
3D modeling is the process of taking a shape and molding it into a finished 3D mesh. Most 3D models start as a collection of points (called vertices) and two-dimensional lines or curves called edges. These can be molded into three-dimensional shapes that have dimensions like height and width.
There are many different effects you can apply to your 3D shapes to create unique and interesting designs. Spline has two effects that are particularly helpful for making your designs more interesting and visually appealing. One is called Fresnel which brightens up the corners of your shapes giving them a playful Looney Tunes aspect. The other is called bevels which adds a nice rounded edge to your shapes.
Spline.Design 3D Studio
Creating 3D Textures
With Spline, you can create and edit your own 3D materials. Creating your own materials is easy; you can either select the vertices in the 3D view or use the Material panel to change the properties of the material.
This gives you complete control over the look of your 3D shapes and can make your designs stand out. It is also useful for highlighting different aspects of a shape. For example, if you have a flat circle or rectangle that has rounded corners, you can add a Fresnel property to brighten up the corner of the shape.
Spline is a web-based design program that allows users to create 3D graphics without having to have a powerful computer or extensive knowledge of 3D. Its small scope toolset and intuitive interface makes it an attractive option for beginners to 3D design.
Creating 3D Effects
With Spline, you can apply a lot of effects to your shapes and even objects. This creates more depth to your composition and can add to the mood of your scenes.
One of the most important effects to consider is lighting. It can make your scene look dull or bright, depending on how it’s set up. To light up your shapes, you can use the Top Bar and click the + icon to add a directional light.
Another cool effect to try is called Fresnel. This brightens up the corners of your object, giving it that Looney Tunes aspect that can really give a design some pop!
Spline is a great program to get into 3D design. It’s simpler to learn than full-featured 3D programs and is browser-based, so anyone can use it. It’s also free! So head on over to the Spline website and start creating! You can export your designs as public URLs, images and GIFs.
Creating 3D Cameras
Spline makes 3D design easy for people without a lot of technical expertise. It’s like a Figma or Sketch with real-time collaboration, an extensive library of samples, and a powerful web interface. And it works on any platform, including Mac, Windows and tablets.
The left panel shows all the objects you’ve added to your scene. You can change their size, position and rotation by picking them in 3D or modifying their properties on the right panel. You can also add a light and change its color.
One of the most exciting things about Spline is the ability to animate objects based on user events. For example, you can make a cube rotate when you hover over it. To do that, just click the “Events” button in the top bar and choose a transition style, duration, and states. You can even add a repeat cycle and set a delay before the animation starts.
Creating 3D Camera Movements
Spline has a variety of camera movements you can use to create your own 3D web experiences. To begin, choose a 3D object from the library, and then select a Camera type from the top bar. The options are Orthographic and Perspective. Orthographic gives you a view of the object that shows its relative size to other objects. This makes it simpler to judge the scale of different objects.
Next, let’s add a directional light to our scene. Go to the Top Bar and click + to add a new State for the object. The new state will be called State One.
When you finish your project, you can share it as a public URL or an image or GIF. You can also choose to make the experience interactive by adding an Action that will cause the object to animate when the user mouses over it. This is a great way to showcase your 3D design skills!
Creating 3D Animations
Spline has a lot of options to create 3D animations. You can use their library of 3D assets or you can build your own. Their library has a variety of scenes and objects that you can import into your composition. It also has a lot of effects that you can apply to your 3D objects. For example, you can add a directional light to your object to make it look brighter.
Another option is to use a spline (also known as patch modeling). A spline is a curve in 3D space that has at least two control points. This type of model is used to create a skeleton for your object.
Then, you can create a state for your object to animate into. This state will change when your mouse hovers over the object. To do this, select your object and click on States in the right panel. Next, click on the + icon to create a new State.
Creating 3D Interactions
Adding interactive 3D elements to web design is one of the latest trends in digital experience. But in the past, it was often difficult and expensive to create these experiences.
Spline is changing all that by bringing 3D creation to everyone using a simple, easy-to-use design tool. The company’s web-based platform is free and works on any browser. The platform is also designed to be easier to use than full-featured 3D programs like Cinema 4D or Blender, so designers of all experience levels can get started right away.
To try out Spline, start by importing some vector artwork. To do this, go to your Top Bar and click the + icon. Once you’ve imported your vector artwork, you can make it a sphere by clicking on the circle in the corner. From there, you can edit the material and change its color. You can even add a directional light. This will allow you to set the mood of your composition with different lighting.
Creating 3D Video
The company has been receiving a tremendous response from the design community, only a few months after its launch. Its mission is to make 3D design more accessible, and the tools have been designed to be simpler to use than traditional 3D programs.
In Spline, you can open files created by other members of the community to inspect and learn from. They also have a library of high-quality assets that can be used to save time or provide inspiration. It's similar to the way Figma and Sketch have a library of samples that help users learn how to use those tools.
For example, let's take a look at this simple example of a softly rounded rectangle from the official Spline sample. It's easy to change the shape by using the Editing panel on the right side of the screen. You can even change the material properties by clicking on the Material tab.
