I’m excited about the upcoming launch of Fab.com and the migration of 3D models from Sketchfab, but I have a quick (and urgent!) question regarding one of the Sketchfab Labs features that many of us used frequently. Specifically, I’m talking about the screenshot tool from Sketchfab Labs, which allowed users to extract transparent screenshots of 3D models. Here’s the old link for reference: https://labs.sketchfab.com/experiments/screenshots/ — although it’s unfortunately showing a “503 Service Temporarily Unavailable” message now.
This tool was an absolute game-changer for creating professional visuals and videos, not to mention being an essential part of my (and many others’) workflow. I know a lot of people in the community relied on it heavily for their jobs, so I’m hoping that Fab.com will introduce something similar.
Can anyone confirm if a feature like this will be available on Fab.com once it launches? If not, are there any plans to bring back the transparent screenshot tool or an equivalent? It’s really important for my work, and I know I’m not alone in this!
Hi Julyt2,
I’m not sure whether the labs will return in their current form. The new viewer on Fab doesn’t have an API yet, so none of the experiments will work with the new viewer.
The Sketchfab labs is a github repository and it’s still available. You can make a fork here from the github account of Sketchfab.
I did so myself and I’m hosting it on github: Sketchfab Labs Experiments. The screenshots experiment is also present.
I can’t guarantee it will all work, but at least the screenshot one has been tested.
If you want to take things further with taking screenshots, take a peek here: https://www.cinefab.io/
Klaas
You seriously saved my ■■■ with the screenshot tool! I was completely stuck when Sketchfab took it offline and had no idea what to do. Thanks for sharing your fork—it’s been a lifesaver!
I’m also really excited about Fab’s launch. Do you think there will be any chance to drop Fab models into a viewer like we did with Sketchfab Labs and use the same kind of tools, especially for screenshots? That would be awesome! But we will see I guess.
I’m glad I could help.
I sure hope the API for the fab viewer will become available soon. The need for making good renders of fab models will grow a lot as more people start publishing in the fab store. And I heard the fab viewer doesn’t create a thumbnail itself, like the sketchfab viewer does. So every seller will be eager to make renders in fab, but they can’t.
I’m currently still using the old Sketchfab viewer. As far as I know, Sketchfab will continue to stay online, so the backup version of the screenshot viewer is sufficient for me at the moment. However, I do hope that Fab.com will soon have a screenshot viewer or something similar, so my team and I can continue exporting screenshots from the models. This feature was extremely helpful on Sketchfab.