The workflows we see the Gravity Sketch community adopting, and the valuable feedback they continue to provide are the keys to where we go next with the product, and the latest features that you can get your hands on.
Last week saw a large Gravity Sketch update rolled out across the VR app and Screen Collab as we reacted to consistent feedback from the community. You can see the full list of changes, updates and bug fixes in our release notes, but let’s take a look at some of the highlights of what’s inside…
Getting input on your designs
Throughout the process of designing a product, we know you need to be able to maintain communication with team members and stakeholders; this helps shape and iterate on ideas as quickly as possible… but not everyone has access to a VR headset all the time.
With Gravity Sketch you can invite others to view and share feedback on your creations via their desktop, or present from your screen — this is referred to as Screen Collab. We’ve made some updates in this space to improve the experience and support even more participation and meaningful feedback.
Toggle the UI on or off
The added capabilities introduced to the screen app have added icons to the UI. However, you have the option to present without the clutter of tools appearing on your screen by toggling the UI in the screen app off or on; this is done using the tab key on your keyboard.
Comments and replies
Comments can now be part of a thread, to keep the conversation going and gather additional feedback on the same topic. When someone replies to a comment or starts a thread in a room you have access to, you’ll be notified via email that there’s new feedback that’s been added.
You can only leave comments, reply to threads, and mark comments as resolved on desktop in Screen Collab, but when you’re in VR you can still view them; so all the feedback is available in your room to help inform the next iterations of your design.
Exports and screenshots from desktop
When viewing a room and its files in Screen Collab, you now have the ability to export them. You can have control over export settings such as units, axis, mirror plane and file format.
Supported file formats include:
- FBX
- IGES
- USDZ
- OBJ
- GLB
- MP4
These exported files can be found under Cloud Exports in Landing Pad, where you can view or download them to your device.
You can also now take screenshots from inside Screen Collab by adjusting your viewpoint and selecting the icon in the bottom right of the screen. You’re able to make the background of a room transparent before capture, and set the ratio of your screen capture (square or to match your screen); these will be saved to Landing Pad.
Providing these capabilities to export and capture what is in a room from Screen Collab opens up the ability to communicate and share ideas with a wider audience – expanding workflows from participation via desktop.
Layers
Layer control has been brought into rooms that are being viewed on desktop, which match those experienced in VR. Those viewing designs from a screen are now able to:
- Show / hide individual layers
- Change the opacity of a chosen layer
- Lock a chosen layer
- Isolate a layer
These controls give anyone viewing Gravity Sketch creations on desktop a deeper understanding of a design’s composition, and the ability to focus in on different elements. It also brings the two experiences more closely aligned.
In-VR experience
We’ve listened to feedback on making the time spent in VR more productive, and taking designs further – resulting in some new features to improve the overall experience and specific workflows.
Web browser
VR might seem like a detached experience if you’re not collaborating in a room with others, but Gravity Sketch now supports an in-app web browser within a room – giving you a window to the rest of the world to look at references, watch tutorials, or find the answer to any burning questions you have.
You can drag images straight from the browser and into your room in VR – this eliminates the need to download an image on desktop, upload it to LandingPad, and then import the reference image.
Thin line stroke
A ‘Thin Line Stroke’ option has been added to the stroke tool. Strokes drawn with this option will have a consistent thickness regardless of sketch scale.
Thin Stroke is going to be particularly useful if you work with a 3D Engineer as part of your workflow, as it will open in other CAD programs as a 3D Curve. This will allow 3D Engineers to easily make edits or use it for other 3D modeling operations downstream.
Improved SubD textures (on unenclosed objects)
Your workflow can now benefit from the improved appearance of textures on unenclosed subdivision objects. For footwear we can suggest the following steps to experience these for your own work:
- In Edit Mode switch to the Separate tool and separate the top and bottom of the last.
- Add a vertical edge loop to the heel.
- Delete the vertical face loop and then slide the new edge to close the gap more.
- Extrude new edges and turn them in just like a real stitch-and-turn seam.
- Apply the desired texture from a JPG or PNG image from the Reference Library or one you’ve created and uploaded to LandingPad!
Security
We’re committed to continually improving security at Gravity Sketch, so that means regularly looking at what we can implement or improve in terms of processes and accreditation. Our TISAX assessment and proxy support are the latest updates in this area.
TISAX
We’re proud to announce that we have recently completed the TISAX assessment. TISAX is an information security assessment supported by the ENX Association, on behalf of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (the VDA).
Proxy support
In the options menu, we’ve added a ‘Proxy’ setting, allowing Gravity Sketch to easily connect to LandingPad using your system’s proxy. This ensures that organizations have instant access and control over their proxy setup, rather than having to work directly with Gravity Sketch to get everything in place.
It’s all thanks to you!
As always, a big thank you for the consistent feedback and usage from you, our community, in helping us to develop this new set of improvements and features.
If you’re not already, don’t forget to connect into the Gravity Sketch community via Discord, Instagram, and YouTube, where you can contribute to the discussions and share your groundbreaking 3D creations and workflows.
