At Shapeways, we want to make 3D printing accessible to everyone who wants to do it. So to that end, we want to give you a quick rundown on just how we can make you an official 3D creator in mere minutes. We’ve worked for years to make this process as smooth and open to you as possible, so here’s a quick rundown on how we make things easy.

3D printing your creations with Shapeways is easy, but designing your 3D models can get a little bit tricky. Fret not! We’ve compiled a list of five design software that are used extensively in the 3D printing world which you can start using today, regardless of your skill or budget. Without further ado, here’s a quick rundown of the software that’s ready for to make your 3D printing dreams come true.

Strider is one of the more successful 2D side scrollers of the 90s for SNES and Sega Genesis to date. However, being released in the 90s, means that the American release was stricken with the terrible curse of the hyper-realistic fantasy art, turning the masked, brown-haired, katana-wielding Strider Hiryu into some Richard-Dean-Anderson-looking mook in a wrestling outfit. Now don't get me wrong here, I'm sure this art has a place. But it's not found in misrepresenting the art of another game. This version by SpankThru brings a look that, well, looks like Strider when you play it. He looks like he does when you play him in Marvel vs. Capcom. Not only that, but we see a concrete villain, looming above Strider. It's awesome. You know what isn't? Three throwaway goons in the bottom right corner.

It’s happened to all of us. You’re just sitting down to get started on a new assignment when you hear an email notification. You nonchalantly glance at your phone, expecting it to be a shipping update for the whalebone fountain pen set signed by Ernest Hemingway you just bought. Instead, it’s an unexpected email from a client. “We regret to inform you that…” Oh no. You were counting on this client to provide you with caviar money for the month. Now they’re telling you they can’t afford to keep you on because your retainer is costing half of their monthly budget. You sigh and send them a reply, telling them that cashing the weekly five-digit sum they paid you to write for them were some of the greatest moments in your career, and wish them all the best, making sure to mention you’re interested in collaborating with them in the future if an opportunity opens up once again. You walk across to your elegantly appointed bar and pour yourself a glass of twelve-year-old scotch when it hits: the entire reason you came to the office this morning was to work on your now ex-client’s assignment. Taking a sip of the smooth, fiery spirit, you slump back into your high-backed office throne, and ponder one question: What now?

Designed for industrial uses, it’s well known that HP nylon plastic works incredibly well for HP’s big manufacturing clients looking to move over to 3D printed production parts. And it performs outstandingly for functional uses. But our uniquely varied community of creators has shown that its applications go far beyond the purely industrial, redefining its possibilities along the way. People like you are discovering that everything from sleek eyeglasses to intricate designs for items like jewelry, phone cases, and miniatures printed in HP look wonderful and hold up to impacts, daily manual use, and other wear and tear. So bring on your living hinges, coils, connectors, and brackets. And don’t forget that decorative elements shine in this material.

Few things compare to the Detroit Institute of Arts' sun-soaked Rivera Court, but the things that do can be found just a few feet away, among the DIA's collection of masterpieces. When the museum doors close, Detroit is always open, and its culture, nightlife and events are just waiting to be discovered. Dine at a fine establishment like Michael Symon's Roast, then take in a show at the magnificent Fox Theatre. Or take in a baseball game and grab a coney dog. Whatever your tastes, in The D, amazing is waiting around every corner.

We love it when people who create with Shapeways become successful. And sometimes just how big that success can be blows us away. Case in point: Mike St. Martin, creator of the brand-new board game PlingPong. In just about a year, he’s gone from 3D printing the prototypes of his game on Shapeways to signing a publishing deal with one of the biggest toy companies in the country. PlingPong is a doorbuster at Target for 2017’s Black Friday. In the obvious whirlwind that he and his wife Amy’s lives have become because of this success, we took some time to sit down with him and talk about just how it feels to become an overnight sensation.

Video games are everywhere. We've reached a point in our society where games and the worlds they create are almost as valid in mainstream society as other forms of entertainment like movies, TV, and books (remember those?). And as they increase in public prominence, we start to see them in places we never looked before. Strange associations and little coincidences start turning up everywhere, and in many cases, as the famous saying goes - once you see them, you can never un-see them. Now, some of these things might be found on video game boxes, a topic I've covered before, and it was great to find some more for this one. There's a lot of bad video game box art out there everybody, and I mean that in every possible meaning of that word, from every era throughout time.

Second only to the granddaddy of them all, San Diego Comic Con, New York Comic Con is an event that sprawls across what feels like every inch of Midtown Manhattan. A gargantuan amount of geekery and nerddom is about to descend on the Big Apple like a pair of Kaiju looking for a place to brawl, and the sheer scale of it all practically calls for a guide to help you even begin to make sense of it all. Thankfully, Shapeways is here to ensure you can squeeze every bit of awesomeness you can get out of your time there. So get ready to take some notes, or at the very least, bookmark this page, because we’re going to try and help you out.

There is nothing worse than discovering that something that should already be in a game has been removed to increase a corporation's bottom line. But we're not stupid. The gaming community knows when you're taking a leak on us and telling us it's raining. That's probably why a lot of these concepts feel completely overplayed at one end, and evoke complete and eye-crossing, fist-flailing fury at the other. So strap in and prepare your facepalms, 'cause it's gonna get cringy.

It's tough being the new kid on the block again, but Detroit has never wavered. The city is shattering the Image of its rough-and-tumble past and asserting itself as a world-class destination and convention city. We've embraced our gritty, get-things-done attitude and accomplished so much in a very short time. The truth is, there's never been a better time to host a meeting in Detroit. Our city is inviting, safe and reliable, and we're eager to show you how far we've come and what we're going to tackle next. We invite you to be a part of our comeback - to see first-hand why Detroit is truly America's great comeback city.

As if we needed any more clarification that we are indeed living in the bastardized future foretold by The Jetsons yet fulfilled by Demolition Man, 3D printers have existed for thirty years and seem to be about ten years away from being the magic food-generating boxes seen in Star Trek. However, in recent years, the methods for creating these wonders of technology have been made much more cost-effective, and as a result, more and more aspiring engineers (or mad scientists) have been able to create things that truly benefit humanity (or enslave it using 3D-printed robot monkeys). Awesome, right? Just wait until you see these insane things you can make with them.