My first encounter with the 3D pen was through a gif on Tumblr that showed a cube being drawn OUT OF THE PAPER in three dimensions (on an endless loop obviously). Like many things on the internet, it looked like a fake, a hoax--bullshit, in other words. I expected the description to say “3D CUBE OPTICAL ILLUSION”, like in that optical illusions book in the 4th grade that had me pondering my existence for years to come. What it actually said was, “The World’s First 3D Printing Pen." Then, in true internet fashion, the World’s First 3D Printing Pen magically appeared on the front page of every tech and non-tech website (including this one, apparently).
The 3Doodler is a real thing that’ll soon be available for purchase in real life. It is a pen that lets you draw on any surface and can lift into the air in any direction. Note that it can’t just draw objects floating in mid-air (let’s get that fixed already). The intro video shows the 3Doodler in action, and it’s quite awesome. We get to see said cube being drawn, along with coils, dragonflies, butterflies, dinosaurs, buildings (THE EIFFEL TOWER). For those who aren’t craft experts, you can also draw in two dimensions (so 2012…) and peel that sucker right off like a gnarly scab. Instead of ink, the pen uses ABS plastic, the same material used by many 3D printers. The heated plastic is extruded through the tip, which quickly cools and solidifies.
Drawing a full circle (or maybe a sphere), inventors Peter Dilworth and Maxwell Bogue can thank the almighty, dream-making internet for the product’s seamless transition into the consumer marketplace. The 3Doodler’s Kickstarter page, which launched on February 19th of this year, pledged a goal of $30,000 and has already passed $1.9 million. And it still has 23 days to go! It’s great that a product seemingly geared toward the art community has made this large of an impact on people. This is the first project from Pete and Max, through their newly founded toy and robotics company, Wobbleworks.
From the weird oozy plastic to the homemade arts and crafts type models, it’s easy to dismiss the 3D pen another “As Seen On TV” gimmick. The opportunity for creativity is extremely wide, with plenty of space for innovation, and 3D pen art should be an interesting medium to see develop. 3Doodler’s printable stencil kits should be fun for the whole family, but I’m gunning for some great original works, perhaps some geeky art, meticulous abstracts pieces, and eventually mind blowing, grand sculptures. In actuality, my hopes aren’t too far off. Wobbleworks have already recruited a handful talented wire artists from the Etsy community to create beautiful objects and pieces of art.
The starting price of $75 is pretty reasonable, and the creators have detailed instructions on how to handle and maintain the pen correctly. I don’t know if I would wear plastic-drawn jewelry or use it to decorate my iPhone, but as soon as I say that, all the cool kids will already be doing it. In the current era of ever-evolving technology and quick fads, any medium could fade fast or have the possibility of blowing up. Only time will tell if this new medium is going to catch on.