# Sketch 3D — Design 3D Model and Animations

> 3D modeling and animation tool with touch controls and community sharing. (iPhone/iPad app by Victor Ng.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sketch-3d/id1029907300 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Victor Ng](https://appshunter.io/developer/720041134)
- Category: Graphics & Design, Education
- Price: $2.99 with in-app purchases
- Rating: 2.90/5 from 443 App Store ratings · 236 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 14.0 · 188 MB
- Languages: American English, Russian, Chinese (Simplified, China), Chinese (Traditional, Taiwan)
- Released: 2015-08-22
- Data updated: 2026-08-29
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sketch-3d/id1029907300/reviews.md

## What is Sketch 3D?

Sketch 3D is a tool for designing 3D models from your fingertips.  You could download models from others, and could also share your great designs with other users by saving models in Public space.

New Feature: Integrated MaterialX library into the app.  
Mesh object can be applied with materialx documents.  When Saving and Loading with material, the document relative path is stored as a diffuse map entry, similar to the way of handling movie textures.  Other features like material adjustment and graph editing are not supported yet.  User could download free material documents from public websites and import those zip files with this app, using ShareTo or AirDrop.

Feature: Use True Depth Camera to capture face model.

Feature: Support using video as model texture.
You could use video clips from Photo Album, or from Internet URL (YouTube URL not supported), and then apply it onto a model as texture map.

Feature: Capture movie from the 3D scene.  
Note! If your device could not capture movie, then, could try out a smaller output resolution (by tapping the control pane). However, arbitrary output size may stop capturing prematurely.

Feature: Design 3D model animation with skeleton structure.  
You could design a skeleton structure by placing bones in hierarchical relation.  Attach model to the skeleton, and then moving the bones to define different poses.  Each pose represented as a keyframe in the timeline view.  And animation sequence is produced by playing interpolation between the keyframes.
				

Features:
- Import 3D content directly from browser or email, either in .zip, .rar, .7z.
- Support formats: Collada DAE, OBJ, 3DS, STL(for 3D printing), and others.
- Import/export to iCloud drive, via iTune File Sharing, or to Public area via Apple CloudKit Service.
- Supports AirDrop.
- Support Quad faces.
- Smooth surfaces using Subdivision.
- Mirroring editing.
- 2-fingers vertex movement, 3 or 4-fingers planar shape creation.
- Versatile multi-touches drag-through-space gestures to support editing and changing viewing angle at the same time.
- Flexible face strip drawing.
- Stitching boundary faces. Stitch triangle soap into connected faces. Stitch over edge or vertex to form a larger face.
- Stitching Triangles to Quads.
- Loop Cut faces.
- Bevel edges.
- Extrude faces or edges.
- Revolve (Spin).
- Vertex Smoothing.
- Vertex Slide along edges.
- Crease Editing after mesh subdivision.
- Split mesh from, or Join mesh to the editing one.
- Support hierarchical mesh node structure.
- Direct vertex color editing when texture map is not used.
- Edit texture map UV coordinates, include atlas generation.
- 3D Text generation.
- Scene interaction with your created shape.
- Design Animation with skeleton structure.
- Capture movie from the 3D scene.
- Support using video as model texture map.

## Key features

- Design 3D models with touch
- Apply video as model texture
- Create 3D model animations
- Import various 3D file formats
- Capture movie from 3D scenes
- Use True Depth Camera for face models
- Share designs with community

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: $2.99.

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited Keyframe Editing | $1.99 | one-time |
| Unlimited Video Capturing | $1.99 | one-time |


## Chart rankings

- #113 in Top Paid · Graphics & Design (US App Store)

## What do users think of Sketch 3D?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 💡 Powerful 3D modeling and animation capabilities
- 🚀 Impressive features for a free app
- 👍 Potential to be a leading 3D modeling tool on iPad

**Cons**

- 🤯 Extremely confusing and difficult to use interface
- 🤔 Lack of tutorials and instructions
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 👎 Steep learning curve for beginners

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Crashes when trying to load or save projects
- Texture and color issues when importing models
- Unresponsive controls and buttons

**Most requested features**

- In-app tutorials and video guides
- Improved user interface and controls
- Support for importing custom 3D models
- Ability to save and load projects reliably

## Recent user reviews (10 of 236)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sketch-3d/id1029907300/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Pre rigged models?

*2026-01-11, version 1.54*

hi there i think this app is a little gem that most would look apon but i was lucky enough to come across it, although i was wondering if this app supports pre rigged models because ive been trying to import this rigged horse model and it wont show me the bones or anything

### 1/5 — Jr

*2024-10-09, version 1.44*

Ts ahh onb

### 1/5 — Dommage

*2024-05-26, version 1.43*

Il y a tout ce dont on a besoin sur iPad pour l’animation 3d. 

Importer n’importe quel format
Appliquer des textures
Créer le squelette sur son modèle
Animer, enregistrer et exporter l’animation
Exporter à de nombreux formats

Il y a tout pour la 3d… sauf que l’UI est incompréhensible. 

Tout est laborieux, rien n’est intuitif ou logique. On ne comprend rien au menu, on ne sait pas comment sélectionner quoi que ce soit.

Vraiment dommage, car c’est la seule app à proposer toutes ces fonctionalités.

### 3/5 — Needs a manual

*2024-04-26, version 1.43*

Texture / UV unwrap problems. Otherwise perfect.

### 5/5 — 挺棒的软件

*2024-04-01*

找了好多付费软件，都做的没你这款出色，认真看下各种功能才发现做的真是全面。虽然我不看好在手机上处理模型，但是不管是作为查看器，还是辅助工具，这款软件都比市面上的工具强不止一个档次，优化的也好。感觉ui上可以下点功夫，手机毕竟就那么小，估计不管哪个软件都为难，这款软件功能又多，估计一看密密麻麻的ui按键就能劝退大部分刚下载的用户了。

**Developer response:** 謝謝你的評論和鼓勵。

### 3/5 — Needs a tutorial channel

*2024-02-24, version 1.42*

This app has good stuff with modeling and animation, but it needs a tutorial! It’s really confusing and I have no idea how to make a simple rig on a simple shape! And I can’t find anything on YouTube except for one video, and I can’t even understand what the person is saying, and he doesn’t give a tutorial on rigging! So if the developers are reading this, please make a tutorial channel on YouTube, or make a tutorial button in the app. I don’t think it’ll bother you much to add one more button! 😁

### 5/5 — Muy buena app

*2024-01-07, version 1.39*

Esta buena solo q nose cómo diseñar algo en 3D pero ahí voy a prendiendo :D

### 3/5 — How do I import files

*2023-12-10, version 1.42*

Please tell me I need to animate a 3D Animation with one of my own models but I don’t know how to

### 2/5 — я думал его вообще удалили

*2023-11-05, version 1.41*

мне кажется что оно сделано китайцами, кривое, не удобное, и вообще оно как-будто из прошлого хотя может так и есть и его давно не обновляют, лучше буду ждать когда в 3D modeling design добавят анимацию чем буду мучаться с этим не удобным приложением где ничего не понятно

### 5/5 — Please add normal map texture

*2023-08-07, version 1.41*

This is great!

## Frequently asked questions about Sketch 3D

### What can I do with Sketch 3D?

Sketch 3D allows you to design 3D models from scratch using intuitive touch controls. You can also animate these models using a skeleton structure, apply video textures, and capture movies of your 3D scenes. The app supports importing various 3D file formats and sharing your creations with other users.

### What are the key features of Sketch 3D?

Key features include designing 3D models with touch gestures, using the True Depth Camera to capture face models, applying video clips as textures, creating animations with skeleton structures, and capturing movies from your 3D scenes. It also supports importing and exporting various 3D file formats and sharing via iCloud and AirDrop.

### Is Sketch 3D free to use?

The application is free to download and use, but it offers in-app purchases. This means that while the core functionality is available without cost, certain advanced features or content might require a purchase.

### What file formats does Sketch 3D support?

Sketch 3D supports a wide range of 3D file formats for import, including Collada DAE, OBJ, 3DS, and STL, which is useful for 3D printing. It can also import compressed archives like .zip, .rar, and .7z.

### How can I share my 3D models?

You can share your 3D designs by saving them in the Public space, making them available to other users. The app also supports exporting and importing via iCloud Drive, iTunes File Sharing, and AirDrop, allowing for easy transfer of your creations.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.54 — 2025-06-15

- Added fisheye hemisphere mesh for both eyes, as to facilitate preview of vr180 movie clips.
- Fix bugs and improve performance.

### 1.53 — 2025-05-07

- Bug fix and performance improvements.
- More flexible caching behaviour when using QuickLook to browse resources.

### 1.52 — 2025-04-17

- Added a fullscreen icon at top-left corner of the texture view.  
- Added double-tap gesture to load texture of the tapped object.  
- Added up down pan gesture to browse through ad-hoc section items within texture view.

### 1.51 — 2025-04-10

- Use default Quick Look to browse resource items.
- Fixed a bug when saving model without effect.
- Improved performance of generating thumbnails.

### 1.50 — 2025-03-09

- Avoid generating thumbnail when not previewing texture.
- Improved performance.

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## Related topics

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-29.*