What is 3D Anvil?
3D Anvil is a no-code tool for creators to mint and drop 3D assets as NFTs on Solana. Think of it like Manifold, but built specifically for 3D — models, avatars, wearables, props. Upload your files, set your terms, and share your mint page. No coding, no middleman, no platform fees.
We're not a marketplace. We're the tool that helps you create your own collections and drops, with your own mint pages, on your own terms. Creators keep full control — you set the price, supply, schedule, and who can mint. Payments go straight to your wallet.
Every asset gets an interactive 3D viewer so collectors can rotate, zoom, and inspect models right in the browser before they mint. Files are stored permanently on Arweave, so nothing disappears.
Whether you're a 3D artist launching your first avatar collection, a game studio distributing in-game items, or someone who just wants to put their 3D work on-chain — 3D Anvil makes it simple. No smart contract knowledge needed.
For Creators & Artists
3D Anvil handles the on-chain complexity so you don't have to. Connect your wallet, upload your 3D file, configure your sale, and you're live. Here's what the tool gives you:
Collections
Create a collection and mint NFTs into it one at a time — no code required. Great for 1/1 pieces, curated releases, or building a catalog over time. You control pricing, supply, and who can mint.
Drops (Timed Sales)
Launch timed releases with a start/end window, your own mint page, and on-chain rules. Open editions, limited supply, Dutch auctions, allowlists, token-gated access, per-wallet limits — all configured through a simple form.
Revenue Splits
Collaborate with other artists. Split primary sale revenue and royalties among multiple wallet addresses. Payments go directly to each collaborator — no intermediary.
Your Own Pages
Every collection and drop gets its own page with a 3D viewer, mint button, and all the info collectors need. Share the link anywhere — social media, your website, Discord. You also get a creator profile with your full portfolio and stats.
No platform fees. No revenue share. You only pay Solana network fees (typically fractions of a SOL). When someone mints your NFT, the full payment goes straight to your wallet. We don't take a cut.
For Collectors
When a creator shares their mint page with you, you're minting directly from them — not through a marketplace. Every NFT you mint is a real 3D file you can download and use.
Preview before you mint
Every mint page has an interactive 3D viewer. Rotate, zoom, and inspect the model from every angle before you commit.
Usable 3D files, not just JPEGs
GLB and VRM are open standards. Use your minted assets in Unity, Unreal Engine, VRChat, Decentraland, or any compatible platform. These are real 3D models you can actually take into games and virtual worlds.
Own it forever
Your NFT lives on Solana and the 3D file lives on Arweave. No one can take them away — not even us. If 3D Anvil shuts down, your assets still exist on-chain and on permanent storage.
Mint directly from creators
When you mint, payment goes directly to the creator's wallet — no platform in the middle taking a cut. You can also browse collections from creators when you have their links.
Technology
3D Anvil is built on open, well-established infrastructure. Here's what powers it under the hood:
Solana
All NFTs, collections, and transactions live on the Solana blockchain. Solana offers fast finality (~400ms), low transaction costs (fractions of a cent), and a large ecosystem of wallets and tools. Your assets are secured by the network, not by us.
Metaplex
NFTs follow the Metaplex standard — the most widely used NFT protocol on Solana. This means your NFTs are compatible with every major Solana wallet, marketplace, and tool out of the box. Royalties, creator splits, and collection grouping are all handled via Metaplex metadata.
Candy Machine (On-Chain Enforcement)
Drops use Metaplex Candy Machine to enforce mint rules on-chain. Price, supply, dates, allowlists, token gating, per-wallet limits, and Dutch auction price steps are all enforced by the program — not by our frontend. This means the rules can't be bypassed, even by someone building their own client.
Arweave (Permanent Storage)
3D files and metadata are uploaded to Arweave, a permanent decentralized storage network. You pay once at upload time and the file is stored forever. No monthly fees, no risk of files vanishing. If our app goes away, the files are still there.
3D Viewer (Three.js)
Every asset has an interactive 3D preview powered by Three.js. GLB models can be rotated and zoomed. VRM avatars display with animations, expressions, and rigging info extracted from the file. No plugins or downloads needed — everything runs in the browser.
Supported Formats
The standard format for 3D models on the web. GLB files can contain geometry, textures, materials, and animations in a single file.
Use for: characters, props, wearables, environments, game assets, or anything 3D.
Supported by: Unity, Unreal Engine, Blender, Three.js, Babylon.js, Godot, and most modern 3D tools.
An extension of glTF specifically designed for humanoid avatars. VRM files include rigging, expressions (blendshapes), spring bones, and license metadata.
We read VRM metadata automatically — license info, allowed usage, avatar expressions, and more are displayed on the asset page.
Supported by: VRChat, Cluster, VSeeFace, three-vrm, PixivVRM, and the growing VRM ecosystem.
Open Source & CC0
3D Anvil is fully open source on GitHub and released under the CC0 license — meaning anyone can fork it, build on it, host their own copy, or integrate the NFT infrastructure into their own project. No restrictions, no royalties, no permission needed.
The real beauty of how this works is that 3D Anvil doesn't deploy any contracts itself. Every collection and drop you create is your own — deployed by your wallet, owned by you. 3D Anvil isn't a custodian of anything you make. It's just a beautiful interface that connects you to Solana programs that have been running reliably for years (Metaplex, Candy Machine).
When you use 3D Anvil, you're paying Solana's network fees and Arweave's storage costs — not a platform fee to the project. 3D Anvil's only cost is a minimal hosting bill to keep the UX running. Since everything is CC0, anyone in the community can fork this project, host their own copy, or take over hosting if the maintainers step back. No single point of failure.
What 3D Anvil actually does
- —Provides a polished, no-code UI to interact with Solana
- —Handles uploading 3D files to Arweave via Irys so creators don't have to
- —Wires up Candy Machine so creators can launch drops with real sale mechanics in minutes
- —Shows an interactive 3D viewer for every asset so collectors can inspect before minting
Because it's CC0: anyone can fork this repo and run their own copy — supporting the community, building a competing version, or adapting it for a specific niche. The more forks and hosts, the more resilient the whole ecosystem becomes.
Who's Behind 3D Anvil
3D Anvil was built by ToxSam— a developer and digital creator who's been deep in the NFT and virtual worlds space since 2018, back when most people still thought NFTs were a typo.
You've probably already used something he made. Cool Banana, Butter, Mushy among many other — some of the most widely used free avatars in the world — are his. That obsession with making 3D identity accessible to everyone is the thread that runs through everything he builds.
In 2020 he launched CryptoAvatars, the first platform to let creators mint VRM avatars on Ethereum. It evolved into VIPE (Virtual Persona), pushing the idea of truly ownable 3D identities across virtual worlds.
He also developed OpenSourceAvatars.com and OpenSource3DAssets.com— free, interoperable 3D assets anyone can use across any world or platform.
Both CryptoAvatars and VIPE eventually had to close. The ecosystem wasn't ready, the infrastructure was expensive, and Ethereum wasn't the friendliest place for this kind of experimentation.
3D Anvil is what happens when you take all of that — the failures, the lessons, the deep conviction that 3D assets deserve a proper permanent home on-chain — and rebuild it from scratch on Solana. Leaner, open source, CC0, no platform fees. Less startup, more tool. Built by someone who's been trying to solve this problem for years.
For Developers
Want to build something similar, integrate 3D Anvil's NFT infrastructure into your own project, or just understand how everything fits together? The repo is structured to make that easy.
AGENTS.md — start here
The AGENTS.md file at the root of the repo is the full map of the project. It documents what every part does, which files are critical, the security model, the environment variables, every route, and how to run it locally. It's written to be readable by both humans and AI coding assistants — so you (or your AI agent) can get up to speed immediately and make changes safely.
If you're using Cursor, Claude, or any LLM to help you build on this codebase, point it at AGENTS.md first. It tells the AI what not to touch and what patterns to follow.
Launchpad Registry — integrate NFTs into your project
3D Anvil includes a registry that tracks all collections created through the platform. The registry is backed by Vercel KV (Redis) and every write is verified on-chain before it's accepted — so the data is trustworthy.
If you're building a game, metaverse, or any project that wants to support 3D Anvil NFTs, you can query the registry to enumerate collections and verify ownership. The launchpadRegistry.ts module and the /api/launchpad/ endpoints are documented in AGENTS.md.
lp:collection:<mint> → { mint, creator, createdAt, network }
lp:sig:<txSig> → 1 (replay protection)
Use it as a template
The codebase is a working Next.js 14 App Router project with Solana wallet integration, Metaplex/UMI, Candy Machine drops, Irys/Arweave uploads, a server-side RPC proxy, and a KV registry — all production-ready patterns. Fork it and swap in your own branding, domain, and features.
What to Expect
3D Anvil is under active development. Here's what you should know about the current state:
Live on Mainnet
3D Anvil is live on Solana Mainnet. Real mints, real NFTs, real 3D assets on-chain. Check the network badge in the top-right corner to confirm you're on Mainnet and your wallet matches.
Active Development
Features are being added regularly. You may encounter bugs, UI changes, or features that are partially implemented. We appreciate your patience and feedback as we build.
On-Chain Enforcement
Drop rules (price, supply, dates, allowlists) are enforced by Solana programs, not just our frontend. This means the rules can't be bypassed. Regular collections use a simpler flow where rules are enforced by the app (which is by design for that use case).
Desktop First (Mobile Coming Later)
3D Anvil is optimized for desktop browsers right now. A mobile-friendly version will come at some point — for the best experience today, use a laptop or desktop.
Coming Soon
- —Burn-to-mint mechanics (burn one NFT to mint another)
- —Config freeze option for creators who want to lock settings for trust
- —Mobile-friendly version
- —More 3D format support and enhanced viewer features
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to get started?
Connect your wallet and start creating — or browse what others have built.