Shape Maker

Being a visual artist and using the computer as your main tool can mean a lot of things. It’s not just editing a bunch of pictures, and it can get as complex as designing various 3D objects. Needless to say that a powerful computer and specialized applications are required to perform such activities, and Shape Maker is one of the tools you can use.

A neat advantage is that the application wastes none of your time with an installer, so you can use it on any other computer directly from a USB flash drive. Another perk of portability is that system registries remain intact, thus not having an impact on the target PC’s health status or functionality.

However, the application isn’t your ordinary 3D builder, and the outcome might not exactly be what you expected. This is because the purpose is to let you visually build shapes, in order to have the Generative Modelling Language (GML) code created and sent to your clipboard. It can then be used in your projects, skipping you the effort of generating a preview after each line of code written down.

The mouse is your primary tool. With it, you’re able to move around the workspace, zoom in and out, and manipulate objects you create. Sadly, the main window comes in a fixed size, which might not be enough for close inspection or handling large shapes. On the other hand, you can enable grid for more axis so that accuracy becomes a key element.

Not a large variety of shapes are at your disposal, and you get to create cubes, cones, spheres, and cylinders. Once placed, these can either be moved around and manipulated to change their shape accordingly. Moreover, a custom color can be applied to objects, but no option to add textures or import picture layers.

Taking everything into consideration, we can say that Shape Maker comes with good intentions, and is sure to provide the right GML code you need in your projects. The simplicity of the interface and set of tools makes it easy to use by anyone, but it could have done with at least a few more export options.