• News
    • General
    • Software
    • Industry
    • Video Games
    • Tech
    • Hardware
  • Articles
    • General
    • Reviews
    • Interviews
  • Tutorials
    • By subject
    • By software
    • Training & Courses
  • Resources
  • Spotlight
    • Reels
    • Films
    • Film Trailers
    • Game Trailers and Art
    • Breakdowns
    • Making Ofs
    • Music Videos
    • CG Videos
    • Images
    • Spots
  • Contribute News
News Channels:
  • CG News
  • 3DS Max
  • Blender
  • After Effects
  • Modo

Software

Sketchbook leaves Autodesk to continue development under a new independent company

Jul 15, 2021 by CGPress Staff
26 |
Tweet

Update Sketchbook, Inc. has announced new pricing for Sketchbook Pro. From now on the desktop editions for Mac and PC will costs $19.99 for a perpetual license. The team have specifically ruled out going to a subscription model. Read more in the FAQ.

Thomas Heermann – the Vice President of Automotive, Concept Design, and XR at Autodesk –  has announced on Linkedin that Sketchbook is leaving the Autodesk stable into the stewardship of a new independent company called Sketchbook, Inc.

According to the new company’s blog post, it is “an independent entity, wholly focused on the app, its users, and its future. […] we’ve got a roadmap of updates planned, many of which are based on requests from Sketchbook users. And some new ideas too, which we look forward to sharing soon”.   You can read the announcement in full on the new Sketchbook website.

Related News

  • Autodesk Sketchbook now free for desktop
  • Autodesk release Sketchbook Motion
  • Tilt Brush 6.0 brings audio reactive brushes
26 Comments
Oldest
Newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
meme
3 years ago

yeah! Everything without Autodesk is good and better!

Next!
3 years ago

Now do Mudbox!!

Mumamix
Reply to  Next!
3 years ago

and softimage 🙂

slebed
Reply to  Mumamix
3 years ago

and 3dsMax! Imagine if max could operate as a separate entity.

Wes
Reply to  slebed
3 years ago

Before I moved to blender this was my ultimate wish.
But can anything compete with Blender now and is it even worth it, with the speed blender is being updated I have no need for anything else anymore

rrer
Reply to  slebed
3 years ago

maz was always in autodesk. Since the dos version…XSI, Maya,Mudbox they bought from different companies. I don’t understand why they stopped developing mudbox, it was great software, at some point standard for texturing.

Michael
Reply to  rrer
3 years ago

Not always. Max was bought from Discreet.

spacefrog
Reply to  Michael
3 years ago

Nope – Discreet got bought by Autodesk ( so they got Discreet *Edit, *Paint & *Effect ). AFTER that, 3ds Max got marketed under the Discreet Umbrella, which then was a Autodesk subsitiary.
3ds Max itself ALWAYS was a Autodesk financed effort, even when it still was in early development under the Yost group..
It never left Autodesk and never was outside of Autodesk

spacefrog
Reply to  spacefrog
3 years ago

Small naming correction:
Discreet products where named using the asterisk AFTER the product name – so
discreet paint* and effect* ( later merged into combustion )
discreet edit*

rrer
Reply to  spacefrog
3 years ago

NO. Autodesk HIRED Kinetix/Discreet to write 3d studio for AUTODESK. It was ALWAYS their property. Dont teach me, im 50 years old and remeber thighs You never saw:P

spacefrog
Reply to  rrer
3 years ago

So what ? I’m 53… ouch..
but of course you are free to stick to your beliefs

BTW: Guess what ? Kinetix was a 100% Autodesk creation too
And as i mentioned already above: Discreet was a completely seperate company, before it was bought by Autodesk. And THEN 3ds Max was shipped under the Discreet label ( but still was Autodesk )

Last edited 3 years ago by spacefrog
rrer
Reply to  spacefrog
3 years ago

Yes, they HIRED Discreet to work on max. It was always autodesk property. What im talking about, they never BUY 3ds max. They take over maya, XSI, mudbox. Max was alwys theirs. BTW, if those applications were succesful, they would never be sold. And they did’nt even pay so much for them.

rrer
Reply to  spacefrog
3 years ago

BTW, I remember Your nick too, maybe just coincidence:)

Roger
Reply to  rrer
3 years ago

@ rrer. SO you remember “thighs” he never saw. Takes me back to the time I was at this club and….

rrer
Reply to  Roger
3 years ago

Yeee…mistake. English is my third language. How about You? 😉

rrer
Reply to  spacefrog
3 years ago

The original 3D Studio product was created for the DOS platform by Gary Yost and the Yost Group, and published by Autodesk. Autodesk, since day zero!

maukge
Reply to  Mumamix
3 years ago

Do you have contacts “Softimage XSI” developers? to want to contact and communicate.

Christoph Schädl
3 years ago

Yes please send Mudbox back to Weta!

Jay
Reply to  Christoph Schädl
3 years ago

Its not Weta that made it. It was a company called sky matters.

Tack
Reply to  Jay
3 years ago

The company`s name was Exotic Matter.

statixvfx
Reply to  Tack
3 years ago

Wrong, Exotic Matter made Naiad (which also came out of Weta)

Mudbox came from ex-Weta employees and their company named Skymatter.

Last edited 3 years ago by statixvfx
Juancho
3 years ago

The only reason they are allowing this is because they don’t care about sketchbook becoming a threat for them in the future, they are not in the 2d sketching business, they care about domination of all 3D things, they got sketchbook from the Alias acquisition, did some things with it, then released for free and the development of the software stopped. I hope, that in order to support development, the new company brings back a paid option, hopefully not super expensive. Also, to keep improving and adding more features without loosing the easy to use /minimal UI/UX that designers love.

Autodesk will never release XSI, if they did that, there’s a chance that the new company will actually do something with it and despite not having any real development in the last 8 year end up beating their precious Maya.

we423
Reply to  Juancho
3 years ago

jesus, maya is so UGLY!

Jay
Reply to  we423
3 years ago

I was worst before pixar made it better

spacefrog
Reply to  Juancho
3 years ago

I doubt Autodesk really cares about the 3d segment in the Media&Entertainment sector. The AD brainbug really only sees and thinks about he AEC sector, maybe with a little 3ds Max as icing on the AEC cake for vizualisation purposes.

All the public administrative, governmental, infrastructural bodies in infrastructure which can be milked with insane contracts and which have no impetus to save money or look for better solutions. Just a dream that came true for a company like Autodesk
Everything in M&E – products and customers – are irrelevant and dispencable in their eyes

villain
Reply to  spacefrog
3 years ago

exactly!
AEC is a huge business and they need M&E to show AEC clients: “look we are in hollywood we are COOL! we are cooler than the competitors who are not related to this summer’s blockbuster!”
although they won’t tell AEC clients “how can we get away for decades without innovation in M&E? we acquire everyone around so users won’t have a place/tool to escape to.”
too bad some of the AEC customers are fed up too.

ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Comments

  • Squarei 3D on Thinkbox MX Plugin Suite for current 3ds Max versions now available
  • Tubesmokeguy on Thinkbox MX Plugin Suite for current 3ds Max versions now available
  • Guest (the original) on Thinkbox MX Plugin Suite for current 3ds Max versions now available
  • MauricioPC on Thinkbox MX Plugin Suite for current 3ds Max versions now available
  • G_L on Autodesk releases 3ds Max 2026
  • G_L on Autodesk releases 3ds Max 2026
  • Senorpablo on Autodesk releases 3ds Max 2026
  • Guest (the original) on Autodesk releases 3ds Max 2026

Latest Features

1

Review of the Huion Kamvas 13 Pen Display for 3D artists

6

Archvis artists – what the hell do they do?

See All CGPress Features

Follow CGPress

Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Copyright ©2000-2025 CGPress. All rights reserved.

About Us | Contact Us | Contribute News | Advertise
facebook
twitter
rss
wpDiscuz
Manage Cookie Consent

CGPress uses technology like cookies to analyse the number of visitors to our site and how it is navigated. We DO NOT sell or profit from your data beyond displaying inconspicuous adverts relevant to CG artists. It'd really help us out if you could accept the cookies, but of course we appreciate your choice not to share data. 

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}