Monster Mash: A Sketch-Based Tool for Casual 3D Modeling and Animation

There was a piece of similar software I used about 20 years ago called Teddy.

https://www-ui.is.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~takeo/teddy/teddy.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adfdtUn2r4U

Obviously, Monster Mash is way more advanced and includes animation features, but ever since Teddy I wondered why there weren't bigger 3D modeling packages embracing sketch-based sculpting.

This looks cool, and seemed familiar. I remembered I had seen it on Two Minute Papers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ny-p-CHNyM Great YouTube channel!

See also the original "Teddy" system from 1999, which this paper cites as a predecessor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjvU5PHVpcI

Looks very similar to dust3d[1]. I wish the simplicity of this approach would be more widespread in 3d software.

[1] https://dust3d.org/

2MinutePapers covered this a while ago on YouTube. I wholeheartedly recommend that channel!

(If you like this article of course)

This tool seems pretty incredible.

I tried playing with the demo on the site. I've got a bunch of sketches I drew in black and white with pen scanned into my computer. I was hoping I could import one of then. It seems like the only options allow you to import then redraw over. Lacking a drawing tablet or anything, this is unfeasible.

A tool that allows you to import line drawings and convert them to inflatable models would be amazing.

I've never been a big fan of drawing with a stylus and tablet. It's not the same as using a pen.

The help tutorial is really well done for something that is a little bit complex, and holy heck - that's fun!

You can export a "template for texturing" then color it in Gimp, and re-upload it to give it colors and features. You can download the model too. Not sure what the "project" format is though - can you pull the animations straight into Blender?

Should have named it Monster Mesh.

It looks like it's time to put to bed the "how to draw an owl in 2 steps" meme.

Some generated creatures are straight out of the animal uncanny valley. So amazing and fun. It's even better than "Quick, Draw!" by Google. Can't wait to see what the Internet will make out of this.

Previous discussion about the research paper: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24477099

skimmed over this twice - and I see there is an online demo that works.. but nothing that says if the self run version is mac only, (? the github says to compile with some other library, linux?) and I get the sad-feeling when I see "a sketch-based.." - because sketch is mac only I thought?

the gif-like animations are cool - better than text for showing what it - like that.

This is great fun! Works on the phone!

I tried the demo in Linux Chrome and it segfaulted when I pressed the "Inflate" button.

Looks like it's being discontinued next month.