Hello 3-d modelers, I have some colored images that I would like to turn into 3-D blocks printed by Shapeways in full-color sandstone. I have tried using the extrude feature of AccuTrans 3D but I run into the problem that the (understandable) result seems to be hundreds of parallel columns representing each color on the surface, rather than a single block with a multi-colored surface (if you follow..). Put another way, what I want is analogous to printing someone's portrait in 2-D then cropping away the white background and turning it into a 3-D block that rather than being a box, is rectangular when viewed from the sides, but a silhouette from the front. The sides should have the color at the edge of the front surface in columns appearing as it would if the front surface was printed many times in 2-D and arranged as a stack. I have some png images and screenshots that demonstrate what I'd like to obtain. PM me for those files if you think you may be able to help. I can pay a reasonable fee via PayPal. Thanks a lot & happy thanksgiving weekend!
You could do this more organically in Zbrush. Create a cube, subdivide it a few times so you have enough resolution to work with and then load your image as a texture. Switch to "Standard" brush turn "Zadd" on. Then simply sculpt the image onto the surface. Once you're done you can export the model in .STL format. ~Tommy
So you just want to select the image, turn the selection into a path, export as a svg, extrude, then apply the color image on the face?