How to turn an image into a 3D model

To turn an image into a 3d model, you need a clear picture, a model that can work out the shape from it, and a way to look at the result from every side. genvi's 3D Studio has all three. It has an Image to 3D node (a box that does one job) and a viewer. It also has tools to change the surface, rebuild the shape (remesh) and add a skeleton (rig). This guide takes you from one picture to a file you can download.

You will make a 3D model with colour and surface detail from one picture. You can spin it in your browser. You can download it as a GLB file (a common 3D file type). You can also send it to Blender, Unity or Unreal (programs for 3D and games). Want to start from words instead? Read 3D Studio, from a sentence to a mesh. The steps are the same.

The model works from your picture, so the picture sets the quality. Choose a picture with one object, in the centre, with even light and a plain background. Show it from a three-quarter angle, so both the front and a side are visible. Avoid hands holding the object, cropped edges, heavy shadows, and glass or chrome that reflects the room. If you make the picture with an image model, ask for "product shot on a seamless backdrop". Game-style words also help. The community models below used phrases like "stylized game asset".

The model picker at the top of the panel shows the current model and its credit price. (Credits are what you spend on each generation.) Image to 3D starts with Hunyuan-3D v3.1 Pro, which makes the shape and realistic surface materials. Other models you can pick include Trellis v2, Trellis v1 and Meshy v7. Tripo3D v2.5 and v3.1, which made the models on this page, are also listed.

Under Settings you will see the main choices. Generate Type has Normal for a model with colour and texture, and Geometry for a plain shape. Enable PBR adds realistic surface materials. Everything else is under Advanced. A seed of 0 means random. Type a number to get the same result again.

Press Generate model. The button shows the price. The model appears in the viewport as a GLB file. Spin it around, then use the toolbar to change Shading (solid, lit, flat, wireframe, normals), Lighting and Pivot. The numbers at the bottom left count triangles (the small flat pieces that make up the surface), vertices (corner points), materials and textures. Wireframe (the model drawn as lines) and Normals show broken shapes that a nice texture can hide.

Each of these is a node that takes the model from the step before. So the chain is: generate, change the texture, remesh, rig. Every step is kept in the project history.

At the bottom right of the viewport you will find Download the model and Save a picture of the view. There is also a version with a transparent background. Send to passes the model to the Genvi Bridge add-ons for Blender, Unity and Unreal. They run on your computer and receive the model from the browser. For the add-ons, see the developer documentation.

Each model has its own price, shown beside its name in the panel and on the run button before you press it. Texture, remesh and rig runs are priced separately. Some steps, such as painting, splitting a model into parts and the viewer, are free. The estimate on screen is the price to trust. See plans and credits.

A GLB: the shape, textures and, if rigged, a skeleton, all in one file. The viewer also opens OBJ and FBX files (other 3D file types).

No. The Image to 3D node takes one image. Use a single clean three-quarter view.

Remesh it to a sensible number of triangles, then open the GLB in your slicer (the program that prepares 3D prints). We have not tested printing.

The apps show 3D results from a chat and open files from the Library. A 3D Studio project opens on genvi.co.