I’m so excited to hear the news that Nothing are doing another community edition project for Phone (3a) this time with a few interesting twists in the format.

Last year the community edition project for Phone (2a) Plus brought the community together in a way that i’ve never seen before, and we witnessed some amazing submissions for all the different stages.

To assist with the hardware design stage i shared some instructions on how to download a Phone (2a) 3D model from the nothing.tech website, and this time around the process is the same for Phone (3a).

While there are some limitations to this 3D model, it’s a great starting point - especially for those who want to portray their idea in 3D, but don’t have the knowledge or experience in 3D modelling.

To download the model, you can either see the direct link at the bottom of the page, or to learn how i did it follow these instructions - head on over to Phone (3a)'s product page on nothing.tech, and use inspect where the 3D preview is (this will work for each of the colours)

You will then want to navigate to the shopify URL with the .glb extension in the code, this should initiate a download of a glb file.

glb is a common 3D file type compatible with many different pieces of software, but in this example i will be using Blender - one of the most popular and also free options in the 3D space.

Import the file using the below steps.

As mentioned previously, this model does come with some limitations. You will not have full control of the actual back design itself since this is just an image. One way to get around this is to re-model the back details or load the image into something like photoshop. You can however change other elements such as the frame, buttons, screen, glass, sim tray (and more). Here is a very quick example i created just in the space of a few minutes, which includes a recycled plastic frame and a red Essential Key.

You may need to watch a few tutorials or read a few articles at this point if you’re not familiar with how to add/remove/edit/create materials, but great results can be achieved very quickly with the right drive and vision. it’s a great opportunity to test different materials, colours and finishes, and with some great lighting to top it off, some potentially incredible renders to be made.

Direct link to file - Phone (3a) White

Happy designing! please feel free to ask some questions and i will try my best to help.

    Related discussions

    Nice! This will be very helpful for those wanting to participate in the Community Edition project, thanks for sharing 🙌

    KrishnaSingh_3e3SEHIH37

    Hey 👋

    If your ideas are ones that your wanting to submit for the community edition project then please see the post for that.

    If you’re creating ideas not in relation to the project then you can create a co-creation post so long as it contains plenty of information.

    I would like to keep this post clear for question relating to this specifically.

      I have some colours idea for community edition the whole layout is white colour background in back same as 2a but in camera use little dark blue in circle one and same in design in lower part their is a circle at lower left corner remains same as white and use red square at upper part that small square use same blue colours in buttons too in power and volume the essential one black looks good plz design this if u like this colour idea

        Are there any videos that show how toh design the phone… as I can draw the designs … but I don’t know how to put it into practice… last year too I tried…but I couldn’t do so

          ManjariNair in terms of basic material editing, it can be straightforward, just search on YouTube for how to add materials to an object in blender. For more advanced material crafting and shading, that will require some commitment.

          Since the model is already done, it can be as simple as selecting a specific piece and just using a colour sliders to alter the material. It really depends how much effort you want to put in.

          This just allows those with little experience to produce a good result with a smaller learning curve.

            pineapplegowon

            Based on this template on the community edition page, only the dark grey areas can be changed.

            (that is if you’re asking because you’d like to submit for the hardware design)

                Does this mean that the unshaded areas of the body of the phone itself most remain white, black or blue?

                  Derren yeah i got that but i can’t figure out how to swap out the texture in blender lol

                    KrishnaSingh_3e3SEHIH37 you can also draw a rough sketch and then submit your idea in the original link. One way to start could be that you think of a theme and then try drawing it out. It’s fine if it’s a hand drawn sketch. The idea and concept that matters. You can also try finding some reference on Google, get inspired by a product which follows your color scheme.

                    And it’s better to keep the idea to yourself and work on it, maybe discuss with your friends and create it so that the idea completely is with you.

                      BasheerShaik

                      Hey 👋

                      Need a bit more info, should work fine using file > import > glb

                      Are you getting any kind of message?

                          Derren
                          hey hi
                          There is a error note poping up inblender when i try to import it, i have attached it

                              BasheerShaik

                              Thanks. Still some questions as I’m not sure why this would cause those particular errors. Feel free to send me a screen recording of you trying to add it into the scene.

                                  Hey, a graphic designer here stocked to participate in this community edition project!

                                  Is there any way to get this 3d model on IPad Pro?