MixeeLabs launched today with their first product: Mixee Me, cute customizable 3D printed characters. The product was designed entirely with Blender, and co-founder Nancy Liang talks about the project. (Oh, and you can win one for FREE today!)
Nancy writes:
We used Blender for all our modeling. The Project From View feature was a lifesaver! We also used the Solidy Modifier to adjust the wall thickness to our exact specifications. This was super helpful and saved us a lot of cost down the road. After we were happy with our models, we exported to X3D file type--texture mapping and all.
Our Javascript 3D engine, X3DOM takes X3D files as inputs. X3DOM then enables us to use Javascript to modify the DOM elements, like texture, material, lighting, scale, etc. This way, our users can add texture maps, change facial features in real time. Currently, Mixee Me changes texture mapping on the go. Eventually, we are thinking of letting people adjust body type by scaling parametrically online.
X3DOM runs on WebGL, but also has a Flash fallback. This means browsers with no WebGL, or with WebGL disabled can still use Mixee Me. However, the Flash fall back is much slower so we don't recommend those browsers.
After the user customizes their Mixee, we use to Shapeways API to upload to Shapeways for manufacturing and printing for $25 per figurine (plus shipping).
To celebrate our public beta launch, we are giving away loads of FREE Mixees. Here's how to get 'em:
- Make a Mixee online on www.mixeeme.com
- Tweet @MixeeMe, link to your Mixee's URL, tell us why your Mixee is awesome
- Every hour from 1 PM to 8 PM EST, we will pick one to give away for free!
Full disclosure: Mixee Me co-founder Nancy Lian was a colleague at Shapeways. She was always hacking away at Blender, attacking me with questions whenever she could, and I think her project is awesome.