Released in 2013 (2014 in North America), Flipnote Studio 3D for the Nintendo 3DS was the long-awaited successor to the wildly popular DSiWare application, Flipnote Studio. While the original DSi version fostered a massive online community on Flipnote Hatena , the 3DS version introduced a new, more personal way to share creations: QR codes .

Grab your 3DS, open Flipnote Studio 3D, select the QR code icon, and search online for “Flipnote Studio 3D QR codes.” The community is still drawing, one frame at a time.

This article explains what Flipnote Studio 3D is, how its QR code system works, and how you can use these codes to share and download animations today. Flipnote Studio 3D is a free (for a limited time, then $1.99) animation application available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop. It allows users to create frame-by-frame flipbook-style animations using two colors (black and red) on a ruled notepad background. The “3D” in the name refers to the ability to animate layers that appear to pop out of the screen using the 3DS’s stereoscopic display.