2D to 3D With Inkscape and Tinkercad

We're going to go from a 2d image to a 3d model to a multicolored 3D print.

• A computer
• A 3D printer, ideally with an AMS
• Multiple colors of filament

We're going to be converting an image to 3D, so first we'll need an image. This step assumes you don't have an svg, which would allow you to skip some steps. Using a Google Image search we can find a good file and download it. If it's a .webp file we'll want to use an extension or converter to download it as a PNG. We download our PNG (JPEG is fine too) and next we'll bring it into Inkscape.

We're going to take our image, which is pixelated, and convert it to vectors for the purpose of making it 3D. We'll use Path>Trace Bitmap (Shift+Alt+B is the shortcut for Windows). We'll want it multicolor and as few colors as possible. Check the preview and when it looks right go ahead and trace it.

It's best to have a backer for these prints, even better if it matches the original design. We'll take the largest piece, break its path apart (Path>Break Apart or Ctrl+Shift+K is the shortcut for Windows). This will give us the base of the print. We can delete the other colors and save it as an SVG with its color only. Repeat this step with the other colors (i.e. yellow and red). With red there were some artifacts that carried over from the tracing, we'll want to select and delete those.

We've got SVGs for each of our colors and with Tinkercad we can import them in. Don't worry about they're scale, but we will reduce the height in half for the back. On multi-material printers it'll use less plastic having this backer and the details will print more easily using that base. So we'll import our second color, reduce its height in half as well, then raise it up another 5mm so that it's on top of our backer as intended. Repeat the step for the other colors.

Go ahead and color the respective parts, as a little treat. We'll export them in a workflow similar to Inkscape. We want an STL for each color (i.e. a black, yellow, and red STL respectively). NOTE: Only export the selected shape, if you export the whole thing you won't be able to quickly color it in the following steps.

Open up Bambu Studio, we'll use this to import our 3D models and prep it for printing. Import all of the STLs you made at the same time, we want all of those parts to be in one object. Once we've got them loaded we can go ahead and color them. Since we named them by color exporting from Tinkercad we can easily assign them colors.

You can scale these any way you see fit. It could be small for a keychain or massive to make a magnet for your fridge, whatever floats your boat. Once it's sliced you're ready to export it to your printer either wirelessly or over a micro SD card.

Go ahead and print it out, personally I recommend a Bambu with an AMS. These designs are great for keychains, magnets, or giveaways at conventions.