HTML5

Browser Based 3D Sketchpad ROMPOLA is Loads of Fun

Thursday, September 19, 2013

In another demonstration of HTML5's capability in the browser, I give you a browser based 3D sketchpad called ROMPOLA. It's essentially just a place to draw lines, shapes, colors, etc using a web browser, but the beauty is you are working on 3D canvas layers and can toss things around, pan, tilt, color things up, and such. You won't be able to create detailed 3D drawings with it (unless you have a wacom connected), or export your works to do anything really constructive with them - but it's a fun little time killer that I thought deserved a shout out!

A quick interview with the creator Lawrie Cape about Rompola.com;

Why did you create ROMPALA?

I'm an app developer by day, which I really enjoy, but I often dream up crazy ideas that don't fit into any of our current projects. I also love playing with new technologies, languages and libraries, so try and spend some of my time out of work brushing up my skills and trying out ideas. Rompola was partly inspired by "Rhonda", a 3d drawing tool from 2003 by the brilliant James Paterson and Amit Pitaru. I was keen to start work on a new side-project, and decided to try to create a similar tool for drawing expressively in 3d, running in a web browser.

A theme that seems to run through a number of my side projects is making tools for others to use creatively, from generative music systems, to time-bending photography apps. Rompola continues that theme, and I'm excited to see what people can make with it. My hope is that as people use the tool, they'll submit their favorite creations to the tumblr, creating a gallery of many different styles and techniques.

What is is built with?

The site's built using webGL, which while not universally supported, is incredibly fast. I used the excellent threeJS to handle the 3d and the rendering, TweenLite for the animations, preloadJS and easelJS for the preloader and gruntJS to automate my builds.

What is the future for ROMPOLA?

I've certainly learned a lot in the process, but there's plenty of parts that could still be improved. Future plans for the site include adding support for the Leap Motion, allowing you to draw straight into the 3d space; Allowing you to save your creations and share them with your friends, and hopefully exporting your drawings to a 3d format, so you could draw something, then get it 3d printed! I hope you have as much fun playing with it as I did building it.

Unleash the 3D beast in you by going to the website and trying it out for yourself. You can also checkout their gallery with some examples.