Turn a 2D Drawing Into 3D Art in Paint 3D

Make the Canvas Large Enough for Two Images

Select Canvas at the top. Drag the boxes surrounding the canvas, or manually adjust the width/height values on the right, to ensure that the canvas can support not only the 2D image but also the 3D model.

Doing this makes it much easier to sample the picture so that you can apply the same colors and shapes to the 3D model.

Use the 3D Doodle Tools to Copy the 2D Image

We need to copy the shapes and colors from the picture. We'll do this one component at a time.

In my example, I first outlined the rainbow with the tube brush since that's the best tool for that part, and then I did the same with the clouds, but I switched to the soft edge brush.

Once the image has been traced, drag it off to the side to build the 3D model. You can do fine-tune adjustments later. For now, we just want the different parts of the 3D model to exist off to the side.

Color and Shape the Model Based on the 2D Picture

It's easy to compare the 2D and 3D images because we've placed them right next to each other. Use that to your advantage to quickly identify the colors and specific shapes needed to recreate the picture in 3D.

In the Brushes menu are several tools that let you paint and draw directly onto the model. Since I have a simple image with easy colors and lines, I'll use the Fill bucket tool to paint large areas at once.

The Eyedropper tool below the drawing utensils is for identifying a color from the canvas. I can use that, along with the Fill tool, to quickly paint the rainbow the same colors seen in the 2D picture.

You can use the Stickers menu to select components of the 2D image, and then the Make 3D option to make it jump off the canvas. However, doing so will not make the image truly 3D, but instead just push it off of the background.

It's also important to recognize the 3D qualities of the image, like flatness, roundness, and other characteristics, that aren't necessarily clear from looking at the 2D version. If you have to, select each part of your image to make the various pieces rounder, longer, thicker, etc., based on how your object looks in real life.

Use the same method to adjust your 3D model to make it more life-like. This is going to be unique for each model, but with my example, the clouds needed fluffing up, which is why I used the soft edge 3D doodle instead of the sharp edge.

Properly Arrange the 3D Components

This step can be difficult if you're not already familiar with how to move objects in a 3D space. When selecting any part of your model, you're given several buttons and controls that let you resize, rotate, and move them within the canvas.

As you can see in my example, the clouds could be moved freely into any position, but to make it look a bit more realistic, it has to be in front of the rainbow, but not too far, or we risk the two not connecting at all.

You might find yourself constantly switching in and out of 3D view so you can see how all the different parts look when seen as a whole.