Adding another dimension to a 2-d object

[Cerest]

I'm working on a floating breastplate for a monster of mine...

 

The problem is... while I can sculpt stuff from a rectangular prism... there are times where I need to have an image (.jpg or .bmp for example) converted to a plane and then given another dimension so I can do stuff with it.

 

This is the shape...

This is what I mean by adding a dimension

 

Normally, I start with a prism/sphere and delete/move vertices until I get the desired shape... but I dislike doing this since It is terribly time consuming... 3D studio's extrude tool confuses me a little bit... but it sort of is what I want the general function to do.

 

There has to be an easy way to do this... and I'm a bit dumbfounded at how I can't seem to find it @_@

I'm using 3DS Max... though I don't mind using blender.

 

The first issue is importing the shape into a 2D plane....

 

The second would be extruding it so it is now 3d dimensional... which hopefully be easy (3D studio has an extrude tool)

 

I've read something about using the pen tool in Illustrator or Photoshop to create 2D vertices... I could use a base image and try to trace it with the pen tool... if that helps anything... but I'm kind of lost @_@

 

Thank you for the help in advance! :)

[ub3rman123]

Hmm.. I can think of a few ways to do it in Blender.

 

Select all the edges of the shape and extrude them. Then remake the faces on the other side.

 

Copy the entire thing, move the copy along the X axis, then remake the faces on the sides.

 

Call a mirror modifier on it, then set the offset to about where you want it, then remake the faces on the sides.

[Ghogiel]

 

 

The first issue is importing the shape into a 2D plane....

 

The second would be extruding it so it is now 3d dimensional... which hopefully be easy (3D studio has an extrude tool)

 

I've read something about using the pen tool in Illustrator or Photoshop to create 2D vertices... I could use a base image and try to trace it with the pen tool... if that helps anything... but I'm kind of lost @_@

 

Thank you for the help in advance! :)

 

You can import illustrator .ai files into max as splines. then you can add a surface modifier, or otherwise edit your spline however you want. and convert it to a poly. add a shell modifier or extrude modifier. or extrude in edit poly.

 

But just modelling the shape would be the most common way to convert any image to a 3d plane/object.

[dthumb]

For Blender, select all the outer edges and press "e" to extrude then drag. I'm using ver. 2.58, I can't remember where the buttons are for background images in 2.49b. And I suck at Max so I can't help you there. :tongue: