Skip to main content

Microsoft updates Paint 3D with new and enhanced creation tools

Earlier this year, Microsoft revamped one of the most recognizable pieces of Windows software around when it launched Paint 3D as part of the Creators Update for Windows 10. Now, the company has detailed some new features that have been added to the app via a new update.

As its name suggests, Paint 3D attempts to merge the ease of use associated with previous versions of Microsoft Paint with brand-new functionality that allows users to create 3D imagery. It’s fair to say that the software is more of a tech demo than a professional-grade creative suite, but it’s still an interesting app to doodle with.

Recommended Videos

The latest update makes some improvements to the way that the Magic Select feature operates, according to a post published to the Windows blog. This particular tool is intended to make it easy for users to single out one particular element from a picture, which can be very useful when you’re creating a layered 3D image.

Now, it’s possible to Magic Select content directly into a scene that’s partially composed, which should make this process even more straightforward. Previously, it was necessary to move objects off the canvas before an image was to be inserted in this fashion.

The other big addition in this update is the reintroduction of a tool that can draw straight lines and curves. This has long been a standard feature in previous versions of Paint, and offers a reliable way of producing lines that meet your exact specifications without requiring a perfectly steady hand. These drawing tools can be found among the existing selection of 2D shapes in the app’s Stickers menu.

The latest version of Paint 3D also adds support for GLB, a new open standard for sharing 3D files which is a component of the GL Transmission Format. The standard makes transferring files quicker and more efficient by outputting all assets with only one container, which helps improve compatibility with other programs and keeps file sizes to a minimum.

You can update to the new version of Paint 3D by opening the app — if you haven’t downloaded it yet, it’s available via the Windows Store.

Brad Jones
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
Scalpers are already jacking up the price of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D
The Ryzen 7 9800X3D sitting on a motherboard.

Blink and you missed it -- the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is sold out everywhere. As you can read in our Ryzen 7 9800X3D review, it's one of the best processors you can buy, and just minutes after the first listings went live, the CPU went out of stock. Scalpers on eBay are already capitalizing.

Dozens of listings are live, most of them over $900. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D has a suggested retail price of $479. These are "preorder" listing on eBay. Quotes are important here because, unlike a traditional preorder, these smaller sellers on eBay purchase a chip for list price and then flip it for a much higher price. In other words, scalping. None of the listings have sold yet, though one eBay shopper picked up the chip for $564 yesterday.

Read more
I have a bone to pick with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D
The Ryzen 7 9800X3D held between fingertips.

Now more than ever, it's clear that AMD needs to release its 3D V-Cache CPUs alongside each new generation. We've gotten accustomed to AMD rolling out its 3D V-Cache offerings shortly after the release of a new generation, but the crowded lineup is getting too much to bear -- and it's making some of AMD's best processors completely irrelevant.

That becomes obvious as you read my Ryzen 7 9800X3D review. The new CPU is, unsurprisingly, the dominant performer in games, outclassing AMD's last-gen Ryzen 7 7800X3D. It also makes improvements in productivity performance, however, so much so that it steps on the toes of an already dense lineup of CPUs from AMD.
A complicated lineup
A screenshot from Gamers Nexus review of the Ryzen 5 5600X3D Gamers Nexus / YouTube

Read more
AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D is official, and it shakes things up in a big way
Pads on the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

We all knew it was coming. A string of rumors over the past several months has pointed to AMD releasing the Ryzen 7 9800X3D on November 7, but the company itself just confirmed the new CPU. It's looking for a spot among the best processors, packing 3D V-Cache on top of an eight-core Zen 5 CPU in order to improve gaming performance.

True to rumors we've seen this week, AMD is pricing the CPU at $479, which is nearly $30 more expensive than the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. AMD claims that the new chip provides an average gaming increase of 8% over the last-gen CPU, and 20% faster gaming performance compared to Intel's recent Core Ultra 9 285K. In addition, AMD says that minimum frame rates are up, with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D improving 1% lows in The Last of Us Part One by 31%.

Read more