Quick Tip: Converting Vector Logos to 3D from Illustrator to Maya

In today’s Quick Tip tutorial, regular Cgtuts+ author Abed Ibrahim returns to show us how to export a 2D vector logo from Adobe Illustrator to Maya. Abed will then cover the process of converting the 2d vector into a fully 3d model. Let’s check it out!…

Step 1

Open your logo in Adobe Illustrator.

Step 2

Export the file as (Illustrator 8) and press OK.

Step 3

Open Maya and go to Create > then open the option box for > Adobe (R) Illustrator (R) Object.

Step 4

Switch to Curves then press Create.

*Make sure your current frame or time is at 1.

Step 5

You should now have your logo as an Outline.

Step 6

Select the Square shape, then on the Surfaces Menu (F4), go to Surfaces, and open the option box for > Planar

Step 7

Adjust to the following settings then press Apply.

* I set the Counts to 1 to reduce the unnecessary edges for the Plane Shape, but this will depend on the shape of your logo.

Step 8

Select your next shape then increase the Count value as needed, so you get a smooth effect on the rounded areas.

* Press G to repeat the last action.

Step 9

Keep trimming the surfaces by increasing or decreasing the Count value until you finish them all.

Step 10

Select the text letters or characters directly from your scene (all at once) and press Apply or Planar Trim.

Step 11

Then go to Display Hide > Hide Geometry > NURBS Curves. Since there's no need now for the Curves to be displayed any longer.

Step 12

Select any shape and go into the Polygons Menu (F3), go to Edit Mesh > Extrude. Use a value of around 1.

Step 13

Extrude the other shapes as needed.

Step 14

Combine the text letters so they become one object. By going to Mesh > Combine. Then extrude it so you reach a result close to this level.

Step 15

You may want to apply Booleans to some shapes like the following, by going to Mesh > Booleans > Difference.

Step 16

To pick the logo colors. Import your original logo image, by going to View > Image Plane > Import Image.

Step 17

Open Hypershade from the Window > Rendering Editors > Hypershade menu, then create 4 lambert materials (depending on the number of colors in your logo).

Step 18

In the Material Attributes, click on Color, then pick the wanted color using the Color Picker tool.

Step 19

Assign the materials to the shapes.

Step 20

To change the background color to White, go to View > Select Camera.

Step 21

In the Camera Attributes, expand Environment and change the Background Color to White.

Step 22

Create your lights and render you scene.

* I created a point light and placed it at the top right corner, with a value of 2. I also set a Linear Decay Rate and also turned on a low Final Gather.

Bonus Steps – Beveling The Edges

For those interested in beveling the edges, it’s very simple and you can follow these additional steps:

Step 1

Select the curve then go to Surfaces > Bevel Plus.

Step 2

Adjust the Bevel Plus attributes the same as in the image or as needed.

Step 3

Set the Outer Style to Convex Out.

Step 4

Now you will get a result like this and it’s also Polygon output.

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