Transforming 2D Designs into Stunning 3D Creations Using AI with Adobe Creative Cloud and Substance 3D
by Dennis Yu, Strategic Business Development Manager, Intel
Adobe Illustrator has existed since 1987 and has evolved to meet designers’ demands. Intel’s next-generation Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 AI PCs come with next generation CPUs, integrated GPUs, and NPU (Neural Processing Unit), allowing graphic designers to blend 2D and 3D design workflows with the help of AI and graphics rendering.
I created the image below using Adobe Illustrator, Substance 3D Sampler, and Substance 3D Stager. Compositing the image took less than an hour. Adobe has made it simple for graphic designers to work in a 3D workflow. The amazing part of this project is that I used AI in Substance 3D Sampler, “Text to Image,” and “Image to Material” to create the blue and white knit material.
Let’s jump into the breakdown.
First, I created the text in Illustrator to explore different fonts and styles. I wanted a soft shape for the Knit texture, so I chose two different Comic Sans fonts.
Now, here comes the fun part. Inside Illustrator, I used Inflate in the 3D and Materials panel to give the text a 3D rounded shape. The 3D and Materials panel allows you to create 3D objects from vector paths, apply materials, adjust lighting, and render with Ray tracing. I could have completed the project using Illustrator, but I wanted more creative flexibility. Once I got the look I wanted, it was time to switch to Substance 3D Sampler to create the material I had in mind.
Substance 3D Sampler is a material creation application. I wanted to design something soft and comfy, like pillows. My daughter has a lot of Crochet stuffies, and they inspired me. With the magic of Generative AI powered by Adobe Firefly, I created this texture with the Generative tool by using this prompt: “Blue and white rope knit sweater.”
Text-to-image is a generative AI feature within Sampler. I type in a description of what I am looking for, and it gives me different options optimized for creating textures or patterns. The next step was to use another AI feature called Image to Material. Image to Material’s AI feature can now run on Intel integrated graphics like the Xe2 on my Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 PC.
The image generated from Text to Material is flat (rasterized) with zero 3D data. To make 3D objects look life-like, the 3D modeling program needs different kinds of Maps assigned to it from PBR (Physically Based Rendering) materials. This is the magic that AI does in Image to Material. It analyzes the image and creates the following Maps or Channels (as defined in all of the Substance 3D applications).
Base Color Map: The physical color of the object
Normal Map: Provides surface detail to the model
Height Map: Gives the model height data of the surface
Roughness Map: Defines the surface texture smoother or shiner
Ambient Occlusion Map: Defines indirect like in areas of the surface
Image to Material also works with jpegs taken with your camera. It’s a great way to make a digital twin if you have a physical material or texture that you want to bring into the digital world. It doesn’t have to be fabric. You can digitize sand, tree bark, moss, and more!
We can now combine elements to create our scene in Substance 3D Stager, a 3D rendering application, think of it as a digital photo studio. While Stager is starting up, I switch back to Illustrator to export the text as an OBJ, one of many standard 3D formats.
Inside Substance 3D Stager, I imported the text and positioned each letter in the 3D space to make the illusion that it is floating. The Gizmo inside Stager makes it easy to manipulate the objects in space.
With my letters in a good place, I switch back to Sampler to export the material. Adobe has done a great job connecting its apps for a seamless workflow. I click “Send to Substance 3D Stager” in the export panel, and the material is imported into my project.
With my material in Stager, I applied it to the text by moving it on top of each letter.
To make the text look better with the material, I changed the size and texture projection type and the Normal and Height channels to give it more depth. This is why AI and Image to Material are so awesome. From just a picture, I can use these sliders to change the realism of my project dramatically.
I finished staging the scene with different 3D objects and materials and rendered out the final image and animation in Stager.
Watch it come to life here:
Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 laptops are incredibly portable, a feathery 2.16 lbs and less than .5" thick! This ultra-slim PC is powered by Intel’s next-generation CPU, GPU, and NPU to deliver the performance and compatibility you need to match your creativity. The CPU is designed to keep you going when you multitask with multiple apps; the Integrated GPU handles 3D rendering and silky-smooth zooming. Lastly, the NPU or Neural processing unit (AI engine) is designed for sustained AI workloads (Audio Tagger utilizes Intel’s NPU with Premiere Pro Beta 25.1). With performance right at your fingertips, it wouldn’t be helpful if you had to charge the laptop whenever you wanted to use it. Under the hood is power-saving technology that intelligently manages the app’s usage on the CPU, where apps you work on are either on the Performance core for immediate performance or the Efficiency core for background tasks. Even the Display and fans work together to deliver more battery life. Intel® Intelligent Display Automatically adjusts brightness, refresh rate, and contrast based on what you are doing. Intel® Dynamic Tuning Technology uses AI to maximize performance and battery life while minimizing heat and noise. I am grateful to have a quiet and performant laptop that runs as long as I do.
It is impressive to see Intel’s integrated graphics juggle AI and rendering workloads that used to be reserved for entry-level to mid-level discrete graphics. Adobe Creative Cloud apps are becoming more advanced, and I think you can find an Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 that works for you.
Learn more about Intel Core Ultra 7 Series 2 here!