Intro to Spline for iOS and visionOS

Downloads

To follow this course, you can download the Assets file which includes the Figma template, Spline files and Xcode projects.

Export native 3D for iOS

With their new metal-based renderer, Spline now enables the embedding of native 3D content in Swift or UIKit projects, optimizing performance on iPhones, iPads, and Macs. This advancement elevates web-based 3D designs to mobile devices, offering seamless integration of 3D experiences into native Swift code.

Native 3D Embeds for iOS utilize Spline’s Metal-based renderer, embedding native 3D content into your SwiftUI projects is now possible. This renderer allows for the incorporation of complete interactivity from your 3D designs crafted in Spline into Apple devices. Moreover, it leverages the inherent performance capabilities of your Apple devices, including the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, to their fullest extent.

App Generation facilitates the app creation process by generating a pre-built Xcode project directly from Spline. This feature is designed for immediate publication on the App Store and utilizes a Metal-based renderer to simplify the development process. It makes app creation more accessible to a broader audience, including those without extensive technical expertise. The renderer enables the incorporation of complete interactivity from 3D designs created in Spline into Apple devices, such as the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, ensuring a seamless and efficient user experience.

Spline Mirror for visionOS

Spline Mirror for visionOS enables the spatial experience of your 3D content created in Spline on the Apple Vision Pro, enhancing your workflow as you export 3D designs for Apple Platforms, including visionOS and iOS. Throughout the design process, this feature allows for on-device validation of your 3D models, materials, animations, and interactions.

New Features

After incorporating major updates such as physics, game controls, and AI Style Transfer, Spline is at the forefront of 3D design innovation. This progress is further underscored by the introduction of particle systems and UI scenes.

Dynamic Particle Effects

Spline is introducing a new effect! Particles, originating from an emitter shaped as a plane, sphere, or custom object, can have their emission duration set to continuous, looped, or one-time. These particles create realistic effects like fire, smoke, rain, and snow by simulating real-world physical behaviors and interactions with forces and objects. This enables the creation of various visual simulations, from explosive debris to magical effects and weather conditions.

UI Scenes

UI Scenes feature as interactive 2D canvases, enabling the creation and incorporation of 2D user interfaces within 3D settings. Users can craft fully interactive 2D UI elements in these spaces, capable of activating functionalities in 3D objects. This integrated approach simplifies the development of 2D interfaces, designed for harmonious blending with 3D spaces, thereby enriching the user experience in this complex process.

Spline’s Sponsorship

We're excited to announce that this new course is available for free, courtesy of Spline's generous sponsorship. This marks our 4th collaboration, focusing on the power of Spline's native Metal renderer, designed to elevate your 3D creations across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS.

This Course

Now it’s time to dive into this exciting new course, where we will embark on a journey through the dynamic world of 3D design. This course is specifically tailored for integration with the Apple ecosystem, including iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and the emerging visionOS. These platforms provide a rich foundation for creative expression and technical innovation in 3D design. Here's a glimpse of the key topics and skills you'll learn throughout this course.

3D Design, Effects and Animations

We will start by covering the fundamentals of 3D design. Our initial projects will involve creating a 3D base, a thermostat, and app icons, all employing basic shapes. Subsequently, we will enhance these designs with materials, lighting, and effects. Finally, we will delve into the exploration of animations.

Particles Animation

We will explore Spline's latest feature: particles. Particles are graphical elements employed to generate a wide range of visual effects, such as fire, smoke, rain, snow, and other dynamic phenomena. They simulate the physical properties of real-world particles, encompassing their movement, interactions with forces such as gravity or turbulence, and collisions with other objects.

Interactive Scenes

In addition, we will delve into the creation of UI scenes. UI Scenes act as 2D canvases, allowing users to design and implement 2D user interfaces that seamlessly integrate with their 3D environments. The 2D UI elements produced within these scenes are fully interactive, enabling the initiation of actions on any 3D object.

iOS Embed and App Generation

Lastly, the focal point of this course will be iOS integration. Participants will learn how to incorporate their creations into an Xcode project, generate an application using Spline, and create immersive experiences for VisionOS.

Getting Started

Learning 3D has never been more accessible, thanks to Spline. Dive in and make a splash in the world of 3D design! Ready to start?

YouTube Channel

Visit Spline's YouTube channel, where a wide range of tutorials await you. These tutorials cover everything from Interactions, lighting, materials and shading, to creating 3D worlds, icons, and even how to craft lifelike characters. Make your designs stand out like never before. For further learning, explore Spline’s documentation to discover its core features and kick off your journey.

Tutorials

Spline makes exploring creativity easy, even for those with limited design experience. Their library, neatly categorized into 3D scenes and 3D objects, offers a plethora of options. All these 3D models are completely free. Dive into each file to understand its construction and feel free to customize them to suit your preferences.

Learning Path

Spline has generously sponsored three additional courses, available for free to enhance your learning. If you are just beginning your 3D journey with Spline, I suggest you follow these:

Create 3D Site with Spline and React

Take our introductory course to learn how to design and code a landing page, incorporating interactive 3D assets with Spline and CodeSandbox. This course will teach you how to transform 2D UI designs from Figma into immersive 3D wonders by adding mouse-hover interactions. You'll also learn to create eye-catching 3D blobs and animations with ease, as well as how to seamlessly export your interactive assets to CodeSandbox.

Create a 3D site with game controls in Spline

In our second Spline course, learn to build an interactive 3D scene for a ReactJS site. You'll learn to animate objects with state-based animations and use the physics feature to simulate gravity. The course also covers using game controls to move objects in your scene and customizing your camera to enhance the visual appeal of your scene.

3D UI Interactive Web Design with Spline

In the third Spline course, you'll learn to create 3D designs and UI interactions. This includes crafting 3D icons, implementing UI animations, and working with components, variables, and screen resize features. You'll also master scrolling interactions and gain skills in exporting, optimizing, and publishing your 3D assets on websites.

Visit our YouTube channel to explore more!

• Create 3D Spatial Design for iOS and visionOS in Spline - Free Course
• Create 3D UI Interactions for Websites with Spline - Free course
• Create a 3D site with Game Controls in Spline and React
• Create 3D Site with Spline and React - Full Course

Download Spline

The Spline desktop app is available for both Mac and Windows. You can also use it directly in the browser which is convenient on the go and on devices like the iPad.

For Mac users, there are two versions of the app catering to different processor types: Apple Silicon Version: This version is designed for Macs with Apple Silicon chips and requires macOS 11 (macOS Big Sur) or later. Intel Processor Version: For Macs with Intel processors, this version is compatible with macOS 10 (macOS High Sierra) or later.

Conclusion

As we wrap up this introductory section, we hope you're as excited as we are about the journey ahead. You've just taken your first step into a world where creativity meets technology, exploring the cutting-edge features of Spline and its seamless integration with the iOS platform. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced designer, this course is designed to enhance your skills, broaden your horizons, and empower you to create stunning, interactive 3D applications for iOS.