Sketchfab Explained

Sketchfab
Commercial:Yes
Type:3D models platform
Registration:Free (Optional)
Language:English
Current Status:Active
Num Users:6,000,000

Sketchfab is a 3D asset website used to publish, share, discover, buy and sell 3D, VR and AR content. It provides a viewer based on the WebGL and WebXR technologies that allows users to display 3D models on the web, to be viewed on any mobile browser, desktop browser or Virtual Reality headset.

The company behind it is today based in Paris and New York City. Sketchfab took part in the Spring 2013 TechStars New York City startup accelerator program, raised $2 million in December 2013 and $7 million in June 2015.

On July 21, 2021, Epic Games acquired Sketchfab.[1] It was later announced that Sketchfab will be phased out and merged into Epic Games' new marketplace called Fab.[2]

Service

Viewer

The main product of Sketchfab is a 3D, Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented reality (AR) model viewer. It enables users to move freely around or inside the 3D scene using mouse, touch manipulation, VR or AR. In addition to static 3D models, the viewer is able to play and control 3D animations. Viewers can enable the VR mode to see the model in Virtual Reality headsets or the AR mode to insert the model within the real world via a mobile device.

The 3D viewer is used on the Sketchfab website and mobile apps,[3] [4] but can also be embedded on external websites, notably on Facebook,[5] [6] Twitter[7] or Wordpress.[8]

Portal and marketplace

Sketchfab provides online and mobile community portals, where visitors can browse, rate, download or buy[9] user generated 3D models.

Users of Sketchfab have profile pages, premium users can customize and share their models privately.[10] Sketchfab users can choose to make their 3D model files available for download under Creative Commons licenses or to sell them in the Sketchfab store.[11] [12] With content available for sale or download, Sketchfab is positioned as a 3D model marketplace and as a 3D printing marketplace since some models are compatible with 3D printing.

3D asset management

Sketchfab offers to paying enterprise customers a dedicated platform to share, manage and collaborate on 3D assets.[13] [14]

Native applications

A selection of Sketchfab models are available within a native application for the following VR headsets: Google Cardboard,[15] [16] Samsung Gear VR,[17] HTC Vive[18] and Oculus Rift.[19]

The mobile application can be used to view the 3D models in Augmented Reality leveraging the ARKit APIs[20] on iOS and ARCore[21] on Android.

Model upload and download

3D models can be uploaded to Sketchfab from its website or directly from various 3D software, using plugins[22] (for example for 3ds Max[23] or SketchUp[24]) or natively (from Blender[25] [26] [27] or Adobe Photoshop[28]).

Sketchfab offers an API allowing developers to integrate functionality for searching and downloading Sketchfab's Creative Commons licensed 3D models into their applications.[29]

Technology

Sketchfab relies on the WebGL JavaScript API to display 3D on web pages in all major modern web browsers. It does not rely on third-party plugins.

Sketchfab implements the WebVR JavaScript API[30] [31] [32] to provide a Virtual Reality mode of its viewer on compatible VR headsets.

The 3D viewer uses the open-source OSG.JS JavaScript library,[33] a library created and largely maintained by Sketchfab employees.[34] Rendering is achieved using classic real-time rendering or physically based rendering.[35] [36]

Company

Sketchfab was initially created by entrepreneur and 3D developer Cédric Pinson under the domain name ShowWebGL in early 2011.[37] [38] He was joined in early 2012 by Alban Denoyel, and they relaunched the site under the name Sketchfab in March 2012.[39] Pierre-Antoine Passet joined as CPO in September 2012.

Startup accelerators

The startup was part of the third batch of the French startup accelerator Le Camping in June 2012.[40] [41] It was later selected into Mozilla's WebFWD accelerator program during that same year.[42] The year after, Sketchfab was selected in the Spring 2013 TechStars class in New York City.[43]

Fundraising

In February 2013, Sketchfab raised an angel round of 370,000 euros.[44] [45] Less than one year after, in December 2013, Sketchfab raised $2 million from Balderton Capital with Partech Ventures, Borealis Ventures, David Cohen and existing angel investors also participated in the funding.[46] [47] [48] In June 2015, Sketchfab raised a $7 million Series A led by FirstMark Capital.[49] [50] [51] In December 2018, Brendan Iribe, the original CEO and co-founder of Oculus invested in Sketchfab.[52]

Awards

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2021-07-21. Sketchfab is Joining the Epic Games Family. 2021-07-21. Sketchfab Community Blog. en.
  2. Announcing Fab, the Next Phase for Sketchfab . 2023-03-22 . 2023-05-26 .
  3. Web site: Sketchfab on the App Store. App Store. en. 2017-07-14.
  4. Web site: Sketchfab - Android Apps on Google Play. play.google.com. en-US. 2017-07-14.
  5. News: Facebook now supports Sketchfab 3D embeds! - Sketchfab Blog . Sketchfab . Alban . February 26, 2015 . March 10, 2015 . May 4, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150504014052/http://blog.sketchfab.com/post/112153509704/facebook-now-supports-sketchfab-3d-embeds . dead .
  6. News: Embed Your 3D Sketchfab Models on Facebook . ArchDaily . Stott, Rory . March 2, 2015.
  7. Web site: alban denoyel on Twitter. 2016-09-16. Twitter. 2016-09-16.
  8. News: Sketchfab 3D and VR Content. 2016-02-27. Support. 2017-03-04. en-US.
  9. News: Sketchfab launches a Download Option and reaches 200k 3D files. October 30, 2014. Sketchfab. November 5, 2014. November 6, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141106003547/http://blog.sketchfab.com/post/100773163909/sketchfab-launches-a-download-option-and-reaches-200k. dead.
  10. Web site: Plans & Pricing - Sketchfab. Sketchfab. 2016-09-16.
  11. News: We're launching the Sketchfab Store in Beta - Sketchfab Blog. 2018-01-17. Sketchfab Blog. 2018-02-18. en-US.
  12. News: Sketchfab launches a store to become a stock photo site for 3D models. Dillet. Romain. TechCrunch. 2018-02-18. en.
  13. Web site: Sketchfab for Teams. 2020-07-02. Sketchfab. en.
  14. Web site: Sketchfab launches team platform to share and collaborate on 3D models. 2020-07-02. TechCrunch. May 12, 2020 . en-US.
  15. Web site: Sketchfab VR for Cardboard - Android Apps on Google Play. play.google.com. en-us. 2017-03-04.
  16. Web site: Sketchfab VR on the App Store. App Store. en. 2017-03-04.
  17. Web site: Sketchfab VR. Experiences Oculus. en. 2017-03-04.
  18. Web site: Sketchfab VR on Steam. store.steampowered.com. en. 2017-03-04.
  19. Web site: Sketchfab VR. Experiences Oculus. en. 2017-03-04.
  20. News: Sketchfab's app might be the best way to try ARKit. Dillet. Romain. TechCrunch. 2017-09-26. en.
  21. News: Announcing Sketchfab AR on Android - Sketchfab Blog. 2017-11-09. Sketchfab Blog. 2017-11-11. en-US.
  22. Web site: Sketchfab Exporters . Sketchfab.
  23. Web site: Sketchfab - Autodesk 3ds Max - Autodesk Exchange Apps . Klaas Nienhuis . January 19, 2014 . July 20, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140720081540/http://apps.exchange.autodesk.com/3DSMAX/en/Detail/Index?id=appstore.exchange.autodesk.com%3asketchfab%3aen . dead .
  24. Web site: SketchUp to Sketchfab.com Uploader - SketchUp Extension Warehouse . Alexander Schreyer.
  25. News: Sketchfab is the first 'Commercial' Add-on Bundled with Blender . BlenderNation . Bart . March 24, 2014.
  26. News: We now ship with Blender! . Sketchfab . March 24, 2014 . March 25, 2014 . December 30, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141230012636/http://blog.sketchfab.com/post/80595403767/we-now-ship-with-blender . dead .
  27. Web site: Blender 2.70: Addons . Blender Wiki . March 25, 2014 . May 16, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150516095824/http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.70/Addons . dead .
  28. Major Update to Adobe Photoshop CC Brings 3D Printing to the Design World . January 16, 2014 . Adobe . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140201203447/http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/content/dam/Adobe/en/news-room/pdfs/201401/011614Photoshop3DPrinting.pdf . February 1, 2014 .
  29. Web site: Chin. Monica. 3D creators now have access to a massive new object library. Mashable. March 20, 2018 . 29 March 2018. en.
  30. News: Experience Virtual Reality on the web with Chrome. 2017-02-09. Google. 2017-03-06. en.
  31. Web site: WebVR - Bringing Virtual Reality to the Web. webvr.info. 2017-03-04.
  32. Web site: Desktop WebVR (Vive, Oculus). Sketchfab Help Center. en-US. 2017-03-04.
  33. Web site: OSG.JS. osgjs.org. en. 2017-03-04.
  34. Web site: cedricpinson/osgjs. GitHub. en. 2017-03-04.
  35. News: Sketchfab releases Physically Based Rendering . BlenderNation . Bart . March 4, 2015.
  36. Web site: Physically Based Rendering .
  37. Web site: ShowWebGl.com Whois Record.
  38. Web site: How Sketchfab got started. denoyel. alban. 2019-01-12. alban denoyel. 2019-01-14.
  39. Web site: SketchFab.com Whois Record.
  40. Web site: Le Camping Season 3.
  41. News: Online Shop . 16 February 2024.
  42. Web site: Portfolio WebFWD . January 6, 2018 .
  43. News: TechStars NYC 2013 Class . TechStars . Eugene Chung . April 2, 2013 . April 3, 2013 . September 24, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924113812/http://www.techstars.com/techstars-nyc-2013-class/ . dead .
  44. News: With 20,000+ users on board, Sketchfab raises a 370K€ Angel round for its YouTube of 3D . Rude Baguette . Liam Boogar . February 25, 2013.
  45. Web site: Sketchfab on AngelList . 2013.
  46. News: 3D Model Sharing Service Sketchfab Raises $2 Million . Techcrunch . John Biggs . December 6, 2013.
  47. News: Sketchfab raises $2m to scale its "YouTube for 3D files" . Balderton Capital . December 5, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140312002913/http://www.balderton.com/news/sketchfab-raises-2m-to-scale-its-youtube-for-3d-files-592 . March 12, 2014 .
  48. News: Sketchfab raises $2M to make itself the 'YouTube for 3D design' . VentureBeat . Ricardo Bilton . December 5, 2013.
  49. Web site: Sketchfab raises $7 Million to build the place for 3D, VR and AR on the web. 2015-06-16. Alban Denoyel. March 13, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160313132011/http://blog.sketchfab.com/post/121198889434/sketchfab-raises-7-million-to-build-the-place-for. dead.
  50. Web site: Get your 3D printers ready: Sketchfab raises $7 million to be the world's 3D file hub. VentureBeat. June 16, 2015 . 2015-06-16.
  51. Web site: Welcoming Sketchfab to the FirstMark Family! FirstMark Capital - New York City Venture Capital. firstmarkcap.com. 2015-06-16. June 11, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170611162633/http://firstmarkcap.com/welcoming-sketchfab-to-the-firstmark-family/. dead.
  52. Web site: Happy to share @brendaniribe (co-founder and former CEO of @oculus) recently joined the @Sketchfab journey as an investor. Great to have you on board, Brendan!. denoyel. alban. 2018-12-17. @albn. en. 2019-01-14.
  53. News: Finalists 2012, Pioneers Festival . Pioneers Festival . 2012.
  54. News: The Europas – Europe's Tech Startup Oscars – Showcases A Booming European Scene . TechCrunch . Mike Butcher . January 22, 2013.

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