Mental Canvas 3D drawing app is reason enough to buy a Surface Dial

[sincity]

Some software is so good, it alone makes a piece of hardware worth buying. If you've any doubt about that, ask around – chances are you know someone who snapped up a Wii U just for the latest Mario Kart and/or Smash Bros. 

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Mental Canvas app

Mental Canvas is like that, but for Microsoft's wildly ambitious Surface Dial. The $99 accessory was launched last month alongside the Surface Studio, but to date, we haven't heard much from software manufacturers looking to take advantage. 

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Mental Canvas app

This app "allows creators to illustrate ideas and depict design concepts freely in virtual space," which is a fancy way of saying that your drawings can now extend beyond a flat plane. Toss in a Surface Dial, and you can easily zoom in and out of a forest, building, or anything else you're drawing with depth. 

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Mental Canvas app

For now, a Player app is available in the Windows Store that that allows people to explore spatial drawings created using the Mental Canvas authoring software. That piece – which is no doubt what you're truly after – will be released later this year.

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Mental Canvas app

Artworks crafted within the program can be shared on any device with a web browser, and its key selling point is the ease of use when compared to complex CAD alternatives.

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Mental Canvas app

And to think – we had to express ourselves using sticks and loose dirt. Kids these days just don't know how good they have it. 

• Hands-on: Surface Studio review

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