Shapeaway 4.0 arrives 2 February 2027: £29 for the first month, then £39 once.Join the launch list

Sculpt in digital clay.

Shapeaway is a sculpting app for Windows that behaves like real clay. Push, pull, carve and paint with a mouse or a pen, and the surface never tears. When it’s done, render it or send it to your 3D printer.

Join the launch listStart the 10-minute tutorial

£39 once, no subscription · Free demo · Windows 10 and 11 · Mouse or pen tablet · STL, OBJ, GLB and 3MF

Vorgath bust.shapeawayorc_v08 · Colour
The orc bust at version 1: BlockoutThe orc bust at version 2: Primary formsThe orc bust at version 3: SecondaryThe orc bust at version 4: GearThe orc bust at version 5: DetailThe orc bust at version 6: TertiaryThe orc bust at version 7: HairThe orc bust at version 8: Colour
Saved versions

From a lump to a print

To begin, block out the big shapes. Pile clay on with Add, cut it away with Carve, drag whole masses with Grab. Shapeaway clay is a volume, not a mesh of polygons, so it never tears, pinches or needs a remesh, and a hole is just one stroke.

The orc bust's first blockout seen from eight angles: rough head, neck and shoulders in plain clay
The bust’s first save: big masses only, from eight angles.

Then, add detail where it matters. Add detail freezes a form into a high-resolution detail mesh with subdivision levels, for scales, pores and wrinkles, and seven surface alphas stamp them in. Back to clay turns it into clay again whenever the big shape needs to change.

A dragon's head in clay before detail: smooth formsThe same dragon's head after detail: scales, wrinkles and a pebbled skin
The same head before and after a detail mesh.

Then, give it colour and light. Paint straight onto the surface, give each part a finish (skin, leather, metal, bone or fabric), groom hair and stubble as real strands, and light it with studio presets, a backdrop and depth of field.

A clay figure under the Dramatic lighting preset with a strong rim light
The Dramatic lighting preset.

Finally, print it or ship it. Split it into parts with alignment pegs, add a base with lettering, and export STL or multi-colour 3MF. Or bake normal and colour maps and take a low-poly OBJ into a game engine.

Export · Each object · STL · 250 mm tall
  • orc_bust_250mm-Orc.stlHead and body
  • orc_bust_250mm-Pauldron.stlShoulder armour
  • orc_bust_250mm-Plinth.stlBase
  • orc_bust_250mm-Bone necklace.stlNecklace
  • orc_bust_250mm-Beard braids.stlBraids
  • orc_bust_250mm-Eye L.stl · Eye R.stlEyes
  • orc_bust_150mm.3mfWhole bust, multi-colour
The real export of the bust above: twelve STL parts and one 3MF.

Clay, not polygons

Shapeaway
Polygon sculpting
CAD modelling
Can the surface tear or fold over?
No, it is a volume
Yes, until you remesh
Not applicable
Watertight when you export
Always
Check and repair
Yes
Cut a hole straight through
One Carve stroke
Remesh or boolean first
Sketch and extrude
Pressure from a pen tablet
Yes, with a curve
Usually
No
Pores, scales and wrinkles
Yes, on detail meshes
Yes
No
Split into parts with pegs
Built in
Another tool
By hand
Multi-colour 3MF
Paint becomes filaments
Rarely
Sometimes
Hair and stubble
Groomed strands
Sometimes
No

Polygon sculpting and CAD describe the usual way those kinds of tools work, not any one product.

Light it like a photograph

These are real renders of one bust. Change the light and the camera the way you would in Shapeaway’s Looks panel.

The finished orc bust from three-quarter view under Dramatic light
Looks
Lighting
Camera
View
Finish: Skin · roughness 0.68Backdrop on · ground shadow on

Pick a light, then a camera. The clay view shows the same bust before paint and finishes.

Ten tutorials, from duck to dragon.

Open the docs

Questions

What does Shapeaway cost?
£39 once, VAT included, with no subscription, and it’s £29 for the first month after launch (until 2 March 2027). A free demo does everything except export models, so you can sculpt as much as you like before you decide. Big upgrades (5.0 and on) will be half price for owners.
Do I need a drawing tablet?
No. Every tool works with a mouse. A pen tablet adds pressure: press harder and the brush grows and pushes more clay, shaped by a pressure curve you can edit. The pen’s eraser end inverts the tool and its barrel buttons turn and pan the view.
Does it run on a Mac or Linux?
Not at the moment. Shapeaway is a Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) app.
Which 3D printers and slicers does it work with?
Any that read STL or 3MF. STL exports in millimetres with Z up, ready for Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio or OrcaSlicer. Multi-colour 3MF reduces your paint to as many filament colours as your printer holds; Bambu Studio asks which filament each colour goes on, and in other slicers you give each part its own filament. See Exporting to your slicer and Opening your 3MF in your slicer.
How big can a sculpt get?
The clay grows in any direction up to a build limit, 1 metre by default, and memory follows the surface rather than the volume. When a sculpt reaches its build or memory limit, Shapeaway asks whether to raise it. Fine detail costs memory: Ultra is best with 16 GB, Studio with 32 GB.
I already use Blender or ZBrush. Will I feel at home?
Mostly. Familiar brushes are here (Clay Strips, Dam Standard, Snake Hook, Trim, Move), shortcuts can be rebound, and GLB and OBJ round-trip into Blender. The big difference is that the clay is a volume, so there is no topology to manage. Read Coming from Blender or ZBrush.
How do I report a bug?
In Shapeaway choose Settings › Save a report…, which zips your logs, settings and last autosave. Nothing is sent anywhere; attach the zip when you contact support.
All questions

Shapeaway 4.0 arrives 2 February 2027

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One email on launch day with the £29 launch price (it's £39 after 2 March 2027), then the odd update. Unsubscribe in one click.