Excellent digital tools for inquisitive creatives

At Moving Brands, we’re always on the lookout for new methods and innovative tools that help us change up our perspective when it comes to creation. We’re also big fans of sharing the love whenever we come across something really cool. So here are some tools that are big hits in the studio right now and what we’ve been doing with them:

MagicaCSG: 3D modelling with maths

Maths is its own language, but have you ever thought about creating 3D art with maths? That’s what our Moving Labs team spent some of their time on recently — they used MagicaCSG software to build an astronaut with a technique called signed distance fields. Here’s how it went:

We love the idea of creating art using maths. Visit MagicaCSG to have a play with the software yourself. A big shoutout to Ephtracy for building such an ingenious tool. You can also look up the work of Inigo Quilez if you’d like to find out more about signed distance fields.

Image credit: Moving Labs using MagicaCSG

Polycam: 3D LiDAR imaging from your phone

This creation allows anyone to use LiDAR scanning and photometry to create 3D images, running online or via an iOS or Google Play app. These images, or scans, can capture much more than a still image.

“We used Polycam to capture moments of ideation.” said Sandeep, Moving Labs Designer. “Context is important in design, and that’s what these scans give us.”

Image credit: Moving Brands using Polycam

We captured the images above during a workshop at Winchester School of Art recently. Browse other creations on the Polycam gallery. There are some really great applications on there — including a T-Rex skull! All you need is the camera on your phone. Let us know if you give it a try.

Spline: A place to collaborate and design in 3D

Spline is a powerful web-based design tool that some of our design team have been loving at the moment.

Images by Tom Caiger, Designer at Moving Brands using Spline

“I’ve always wanted to get into 3D design, and Spline has made this possible due to the program being incredibly accessible, easy to use, and intuitive. It receives regular updates that add more features almost every week, and you can produce some incredible 3D models very quickly,” says Designer, Tom Caiger.

Images by Toby Milner-Gulland, Creative Technology Director at Moving Brands using Spline

The sky’s the limit with Spline — you can create animations and collaborate in real time with colleagues and clients.- Sculpt, interact, and much more, using the browser-based app or desktop version.

Visit the Spline site.

DALL-E 2: Artificial intelligence image generation

For designers and non-designers alike, the DALL-E 2 AI image generating app has been sweeping the internet due to its uncanny ability to respond to just about any prompt. The Lite version (see CrAIyon.com) has gone down a treat on social media.

In more technical applications, the DALL-E 2 program has proven itself a powerful and fascinating program for broadening our conception process and helping with ideation.

For example, a head-mounted display with no screen that uses hand controls and haptics to communicate colour;

Image credit: Moving Brands using DALL-E 2

Image credit: Moving Brands using DALL-E 2

The full DALL E 2 program is currently in closed beta, so you can register for access on their website. While you wait, why not have a play around with the lite version, CrAIyon?

We’ve got more where these came from, as we’re always excited to discover and try new technology when we can. Stay tuned for the second part of this story in the coming weeks on Moving Brands’ Medium page.