Microsoft Paint 3D Preview

Microsoft wants to put 3D modeling into everyone's hands. What better way to do this than to put that power into an app that everyone already knows, Microsoft Paint? Paint has looked largely the same for decades, but with Windows 10 Creators Update there's a new Paint in town. Paint 3D adds an extra dimension to casual image creation, while the old Paint also remains available in Windows for those who cling to 2D ways. You might think 3D modeling would be too complex for novices—as most 3D design software has been up to now—but put that worry aside: It's simple enough for anyone to use.

I've been playing with Paint 3D for more than a week now on a Surface Book running Creators Update, and let me tell you, anyone can have fun creating, customizing, decorating, and sharing 3D objects.

View All 8 Photos in Gallery

You can get Paint 3D in the Windows Store like any other Universal app, but it only runs in Creators Update or in the Windows Insider early builds of the OS. Last October, Microsoft announced an ancillary app, Capture 3D, which is supposed to let you shoot video of an object to create a 3D image you can use in Paint 3D, but that app is still AWOL.

Interface

This is not your father's Microsoft Paint, though it still works with 2D images, and it even adds new capabilities for those flat works of art. The interface is highly touch-compatible, and it looks completely new. You don't need a touch screen or pen-capable PC to use Paint 3D, but it gives editing a more direct, satisfying feel. Using a stylus worked best for me. The app features the Universal App style overflow (or "hamburger") menu at top left, and a tool panel on the right side. Across the top are buttons for brush, 3D shapes, stickers, text, effects, canvas, and Remix 3D content.

When you start selecting an area of a 2D image, Magic Select becomes an option: It's similar to the Magic Wand tool in Photoshop, which lets you cut out, say, a person from a background. It's not quite as automatic and accurate as Adobe's tool, but you can fine tune selection with an eraser or add to it after initial selection. Like the old Paint, Paint 3D is lacking when it comes to basic photo editing tools like brightness, contrast, and color tuning. You can still draw on images, rotate them, and crop them, however.

Working With 3D Images

For 3D creation, you can start from scratch using primitives like spheres and boxes, or, better yet, you can grab a prebuilt 3D model from the right-side Remix 3D panel, which offers staff picks, essentials, starter kits, and community objects. You can search for contributed images, for particular users, or for boards containing groups of images. I chose an old NYC building, and tapped the Add to Project bar to get going.

Controls on the resulting screen let you resize, spin, and tilt the image. But the coolest part for me came next, when I chose a sticker to decorate the building. You can download stickers from the community, too. When you apply a sticker to a 3D object, it wraps around the object like, well, paint. For more customization, I opened the Brush panel, which offers a marker, pen, pencil, crayon, and more. I smeared my building a little and just like the sticker, the paint stuck perfectly to the edges of the building. It's incredibly fun. A written review can't convey how much fun it is to use the new Paint 3D.

One cool option for viewing your creation is that you can tap the rewind clock icon to replay your steps in creating it. You can even export a movie of this process.

You can add multiple 3D objects to your canvas, and select them all at once or separately. The Z-axis tool is nifty for when you need to move an object forward or back. A completely visual help feature shows you how all the 3D adjustments work. One issue I have with stickers is that, once you stick them on, you can't edit them, only undo their application. I also couldn't figure out how to flip the eye sticker so that I could have a right and left eye.

Sharing and Output

Once you've designed a 3D object of your own, you don't have to keep it to yourself. You can join the online community for sharing 3D creations at Remix3D.com. You can share your work there directly from within the program. It's reminiscent of a gamer community in that you get your own nickname and user picture.

Windows 10 includes native support for 3D Printing, and viewing these objects in the HoloLens or inserting them into Minecraft seem like obvious output options. Not only can you print to a 3D printer from the app, you can also order 3D prints from commercial services. The app can "repair" your image so that it meets 3D printing requirements. It also helps you position the object for optimal printing results.

What About Good Old 2D Paint?

I've focused on the exciting new 3D capabilities of Paint 3D, but the program maintains some humble, old 2D picture editing and drawing capabilities, too. You can even put 2D image selections in 3D canvases. This gives them a third axis to move in, but the program can't extrude 2D images into full 3D ones, as Adobe Photoshop can. As mentioned, the old Paint is also hanging around in Creators Update, for those who want to cling to the past.

A New Paint for a New Age

Its acquisition of Minecraft and development of the HoloLens 3D augmented reality headset have demonstrated Microsoft's seriousness about getting into the 3D business. Giving everyday users a tool to create for the new virtual worlds is the next step. Anyone who's used Adobe Photoshop's 3D image editing tools will know that it takes some getting used to; not so for Paint 3D. What better way to turn an old standby like Paint into a boldly future-facing product?