Blending Craftsmanship with Digital Magic
When Roy showed me Canvastic3D in action, I was blown away. Imagine holding up a hand-drawn pattern to your camera and instantly seeing it wrap around a 3D model on your screen – it’s like magic. Roy’s innovation beautifully blends traditional craftsmanship with modern technology. His motivation is simple: he doesn’t want every creative act to turn into a desk job. “I want to take the best of technology and the best of traditional craft,” he explained. And that’s exactly what Canvastic3D allows – artists can create with their hands and still seamlessly step into the digital world.
From Lockdown Idea to Startup Journey
It turns out this “magic” tool was born from a very real-world moment. Roy Rodenhäuser started Canvastique3D with a tiny team (basically himself and his partner) during the lockdown. Back then, he was working on digital fashion projects while the world went virtual – no live events, everything moving online. He noticed how easily fashion designers picked up 3D design software, yet something bothered him: were we losing the hands-on, tangible side of art? Roy didn’t want a future where every creative job meant sitting at a computer all day. In the depths of lockdown, he began dreaming up a solution that would combine the best of both worlds.
Roy shared with me how people love buying goods made the “old-fashioned” way – think of Italian leather or French couture, where centuries of craft tradition are part of the appeal. That heritage and human touch in creation mattered to him. So he asked himself how technology could enhance that tradition instead of replacing it. The answer became Canvastique3D. About a year ago he officially registered the company (with just an address on paper and a big idea in mind). Without a physical office, he even used a virtual office at Impact Brixton to give his startup a professional home base, allowing him to keep his home address private while he focused on building the product. The first version of Canvastique3D was a simple Windows application. Today, Roy is rolling out a new web-based version in a closed beta, so creators can access this tool from anywhere – even a phone – and see their artwork come alive on 3D models in real-time
Balancing Tradition and Technology
Sitting with Roy and watching him paint on a real canvas while a digital model updated instantly, I felt a genuine excitement for the future of creativity. Here was an entrepreneur making sure technology serves the artist, not the other way around. Roy is thinking deeply about where the creative industry is headed, and he’s intent on keeping it human. He’s proving that you can hold onto the humanity and hands-on joy of making art while still embracing thoughtful uses of AI and digital tools. It’s a delicate balance of tradition and tech – and it works beautifully.
As the founder of a community that supports creators and innovators, I find Roy’s journey incredibly inspiring. It reminds me that behind even a simple business address can lie a big vision to reshape an industry. Roy’s story is a testament to creativity fueled by purpose: he saw a future problem for artists and decided to build something to help, all while honoring the craft he loves.
If you’re a creative or designer eager to experience this blend of physical and digital creation for yourself, I encourage you to apply for early access to Canvastique3D’s closed beta here. I can’t wait to see what you’ll create when your pencil meets pixels in such a magical way.
