Microsoft unveils Paint 3D

At a Windows 10 event in New York today, Microsoft unveiled a new version of its standard-issue Paint app. Not only does it look different, but it enables users to work with 3D content, moving beyond two dimensions.

The app will be part of the Windows 10 Creators Update coming next year.

The new version lets users combine 3D creations with 2D elements like stickers, or even selfies. It’s easy to modify 2D elements to match them up with 3D ones for a more natural look.

And it will be possible to bring in pre-made “community” content, too, through a new site: remix3d.com. The site lets you save content in boards so you can use them later in the Paint app. Content will also be available from Minecraft, as the SketchUp 3D modeling software, Microsoft general manager Megan Saunders said at today’s event.

The new Paint app is designed to work well with a stylus or with just touch. It will also be possible to scan items from real life with a device like a HP Elite x3, or, eventually, your phone.

The news and the details of the app are not surprising, given that a video showing the new Paint leaked earlier this month.

The 3D support enhances an app that’s been part of Windows since the very beginning, in the 1980s. It builds on Microsoft’s addition of native 3D printing support in Windows 8.1 and the release of Microsoft’s 3D Builder app in 2013. Microsoft also offers the 3D Scan app for scanning 3D objects with Kinect.

Paint currently has more than 100 million monthly active users, Saunders said.