There is always going to be a new way to express ourselves via art. Music, painting, sculpting, even dance and acting. We’ve been doing it since childhood. Going into kindergarten and pulling out your box of crayons and getting ready to go to town on that drawing of a rocket ship you’d been pumped on drawing in art class since the beginning of the week. It was always a fun time drawing it but, hanging it on the fridge or in the hall would leave something to be desired in our minds. 3D printers have now become a new way that we may be able to “draw” our creations and display them in real space, but these can be very pricey. What about using the power of something familiar to draw with. A pen. More so, the 3Doodler pen. Yes, drawing in 3D is now possible.

The idea of being able to “draw in the air” seems almost ridiculous at first thought, but Peter Dilworth and Max Bogue decided to take the idea and run with it… or perhaps draw with it would be the better choice of words. The pen is actually using the same type of plastic used in 3D printers. A plastic called ABS. It always the user to draw on a flat plane as you would normally for any pen or pencil, but take the pen into the air and your “ink”, or plastic, will follow. No software, computer, or 3D printer required. It actually may be safe to look at it as a portable 3D printer in some ways. The plastic is loaded into the back of the pen in long strings, almost like that of a hot glue gun, and is then extruded from the front of the pen in a more movable, almost “goo-like” state. The limits are up to you at that point.

The pen seems to be very well priced at this point as well. The ability to draw in free space will set you back only $99, which seems a fair price, especially for those who may see this as more of a tool than just a new toy for arts and crafts. One could see this being used as an invaluable tool for architects and building contractors alike in a way that can create their ideas in one drawing instead of many from different angles. You are basically working with a portable 3D printer, again. The only draw back from this is the plastic. With each strip of plastic coming in at roughly $10 a pop, it might not seem all that practical for all but the most artistic of us to take hold of this product. It is definitely something I would recommend trying though. Just be ready to pay for lots and lots of plastic!