Import and convert images to 3D models

We’re going to look at a couple of ways of taking externally sourced images and turning them into 3D objects inside Blender. First, we’ll take a rough sketch as our starting point. Thanks to vector drawing application Inkscape (https://inkscape.org), we’ll convert this into a set of curves and lines before importing it into Blender. From here, we can convert this flat shape into a solid 3D object. Then, most importantly, we can make it shiny! (ooh, now I’m interested! – Ed)

Secondly, we’ll look at working from a reference photo to draw an outline of a real-world object. From here, we can use a lathe-like technique to turn this into a solid 3D shape to which we can add some thickness so that it has solid walls. From there, it’s a cinch to add a texture to it, and give it a realistic-looking surface.

Sketch to logo

We’re going to take a sketch and turn it into a metallic 3D object in . For this, we’ll assume that you’ve already got an image of a hand-drawn black and white 3D logo. Although this example starts with a sketch, there’s no reason that you couldn’t create something afresh in , using its excellent drawing facilities. All you have to do to make this work is to generate a shape inside , export it as an SVG file and then import it into .