Creopop’s unusual photo-polymer 3D drawing pen is many months from commercial release — but in the relatively brief time I spent using the prototypes, I was smitten.

The rather large pen weighs 113 grams or just under 4 oz. It stands out among existing 3D drawing (some mistakenly call them “printing”) tools. This uses neither heat nor plastics to create 3D objects that can stand on their own.

Instead, the Creopop pen (from Creopop the company) employs a chemical reaction to harden its "ink," which is actually a gel-like polymer.

Despite the complex chemical reaction happening right before your eyes, the process is simple. Inside the pen is a syringe filled with photopolymer gel. A motor inside the pen forces the gel out of a nozzle, plunger style.

The magic happens on the nozzle end. It’s surrounded by three blue UV lights, which, in an instant photo-chemical reaction, harden the gel almost as soon as it exists the nozzle.

The cordless pen will draw like this for two hours on a 40-minute charge. You can also work with the pen plugged in.

You may have seen similar technology in the dentist office — though Creopop’s marketing director Andreas Birnik told me Creopop's UV light is much less bright than the one your dentist uses to cure and harden your fillings. Birnik contends that the light is safe, though he’s not recommending anyone stare straight into it.

To make sure, Creopop will go through U.S. safety certification before it goes on sale.

Let’s play

To make a 3D object, or even a 2D one that you can then lift off a flat surface and carry around, you press Creopop’s drawing button (near the tip, power is at the other end), let a dollop of gel hit the drawing surface and them move the pen consistently in space. If you get the pacing right and hold the pen at the correct angles, you’ll create slightly squiggly lines in the air.

The gel adheres to itself, so I was able to start drawing on top of now hardened lines I had drawn earlier. Birnik told me that I could also draw flat shapes, pick them up and then draw them together to create a larger 3D structure, like a house. I didn’t have time to give that a shot.

These prototypes were a bit finicky. The nozzles kept getting clogged, though it was easy to pop off the hardened polymer. Sometimes the light didn't shine and I got polymer gel on my hands. You really had to hold the pen just so to draw effective lines. I suspect the final nozzles will be an improvement over the current prototype.

Because there’s no heat, the gel and tip are completely cool to the touch. You can draw on anything, including skin. I didn’t draw on mine, but got a fair bit of the gel, both soft and hardened, on my hands — and never felt a thing.

Ultimately, I only accomplished drawing some abstract shapes and a standing stick figure — but I’m pretty sure I could, with enough time and polymer, get a lot better at it.

Most of the time I was using glow-in-the dark gel, which highlights one of the key benefits of using a polymer. Creopop can potentially add a wide variety of reactive materials to the gel, including stuff that will give it magnetic, conductive and elastic properties. Some, like chemical luminescence, are already possible. Creopop is still working on others.

Next phase

When Creopop ships sometime next year, the pens will list for $89 and come with five gel syringes (in five colors). You’ll be able to buy additional polymer gel packs for $2 apiece. The company is looking for a little push as it continues to develop the prototypes and final product, so it launched an Indiegogo campaign on Tuesday.