I’ve worked with several different pro design suites and I’ve designed and built my own web apps for years. Having the ability to set the Hex value of a model/face color is just basic ‘level one’ design – the type of thing you learn about in your freshman design class. So, why can’t I set HTML color codes in Shapr3d?
I know you can set the color codes in the API, that’s just the way graphics software works. Why not expose that aspect of the API in the color wheel? Then, I can get serious about creating a professional color palette. Protip: color wheels are not all that useful.
This would be such an easy fix. So, Shapr3d, you want to be competitive, why won’t you let us dial in the HTML/Hex codes manually?
Hi @rungreadsemail, welcome!
We are not implementing that feature because with 3D shaded geometry color codes are quite meaningless. As you can see the color of a face is changing as you are rotating the camera around it, as the light falls onto it from a different angle. In 3D the actual color of a face depends on many factors, reflection, ambient light, etc. Thus entering the color code would simply not make the face the color you want. I hope this helps!
“[S]haded geometry color codes are quite meaningless.”
To an engineer, that’s probably true. Yet, the human eye is trained to see color with varying degrees of shadow. That’s how renaissance painters were able to reliably tell the difference between Carmine Lake and Vermilion, long before the invention of the Datacolor SpiderX. Furthermore, it can be extremely difficult to make out complex shapes when they are all shaded grey, as any Shapr3D 1.0 user can tell you. This is why other companies allow you to dial in HTML codes. Yes, greyscale is fine when you are rapid-prototyping a machine part. But, when you are building complex, multilayer architectural models, color is vital. You need to get a rough feel for how light will influence the atmosphere of a room. Color decisions must be made early, as they will influence the rest of the design. Given that your company is actively marketing Shapr3D for architectural use, this is a policy stance you might want to respectfully reconsider.
I see, thanks. I am probably missing something here. Why would you prefer the color codes over the color wheel if the actual color of the shape would be different?
HTML color codes would allow me to start building color palettes early on and testing them in varying degrees of light/shadow. For instance, a building with a lot of windows may look good with dark interior paint. However, if there is just not enough lighting in that room, the dark paint my have a claustrophobic effect.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: obviously, lighting is not Shapr3D’s strong suit (nor should it be). So, if I find a palette I like, something that looks ‘acceptable’ inShapr3D, I can then do the final test of my chosen color palette in a raytracing suite, like Blender – that will give me an accurate portrayal of my final selection. But, if I wait until the Blender stage to choose a color, I have waited much too long.
Having that palette available for experimentation in Shapr3D stage will get me halfway to where I need to go. And, besides, you can’t really show a grayscale model to a client / colleague. Having a semi-accurate color palette in Shapr3D allows you to share the model while you’re still working on it. Again, it doesn’t have to be perfect. People don’t expect the color palette to be exact in a 3D modeling software – they understand that it will change significantly when you hang that color on the wall – but they do want to see your approximation. They want it to be close enough to get a rough ‘feel’. It’s just part of the long, recurring cycle of interior and exterior design choices : )
Got it, thanks for your feedback. Currently we have a default color palette in the bottom (in the color tool), but I agree that being able to customize it would make a lot of sense.
Not to cast disparagement on this party but … Light in my opinion controls colors and nothing digital will ever compete with Apollo…
The Minoans are some of the greatest Architects that ever walked this Planet of ours and they certainly knew how to control light and a lot of other things!!! Bare in mind this is 3,500 or so years ago … They did consume Apples in the day!!!
