VistaSculpt

Getting Started

What is VistaSculpt?

VistaSculpt is a state-of-the-art application that transforms 2D images into 3D relief models with unmatched depth precision and detail accuracy, and can now generate full 3D models from a single photo. A "relief" is a type of sculpture where the design is raised from a flat background - think of coins, carved wood panels, or decorative plaques. VistaSculpt uses advanced AI technology to analyze your photos and automatically create detailed 3D versions that you can:

• 3D Print - Create physical objects on any 3D printer (FDM, resin, etc.)
• CNC Machine - Carve into wood, aluminum, brass, or other materials
• Laser Engrave - Etch detailed designs onto wood, acrylic, leather, and more
• Use in Digital Projects - Import into games, renders, AR/VR applications, or other 3D software
• Create Molds - Generate negative molds for casting and manufacturing

Why VistaSculpt Stands Out

VistaSculpt delivers industry-leading depth accuracy that other relief software simply cannot match. Our advanced AI understands the true structure of your images, solving common problems that plague other solutions:

Precise Boundary Detection

When your image contains a frame, picture, or bordered element, VistaSculpt correctly interprets the spatial relationship. The subject inside a frame stays inside the frame in your 3D relief. Other software often causes subjects to incorrectly "pop out" beyond their boundaries, ruining the depth logic.

Original Image

VistaSculpt

Other Software

Intelligent Shadow Handling

Traditional software misinterprets shadows as recessed areas, creating unwanted holes or noise. VistaSculpt's AI recognizes shadows for what they are - lighting effects, not depth information - producing clean, artifact-free surfaces.

Original Image

VistaSculpt

Other Software

Precision Flat Surface Detection

VistaSculpt's AI detects flat areas with 99.9% accuracy, ensuring surfaces meant to be flat remain perfectly flat in your relief. Critical for architectural subjects, product photography, and clean surface work.

Original Image

VistaSculpt

Other Software

What's New in v1.2.2

• Image to 3D - Generate full textured 3D models from a single photo
• Shape Creator - Full CAD-style vector shape drawing with 20 extrusion profiles, text shapes, and engrave mode
• AI Textures & PBR Materials - Generate seamless textures and PBR materials from text prompts
• Mask Brush - New sculpting brush to protect areas from editing
• Create Mold - Generate negative molds for manufacturing
• Cut Model (Remove Plane) - Slice the model with a cutting plane
• Free Crop Tool - Draw freeform crop/split boundaries
• Directional Bend - Per-side dome/dish control
• Measurement Tool - Interactive distance measurement in the viewport
• Custom Frame Drawing - Draw your own frame outlines
• Transform Gizmo - Blender-style Move (G), Rotate (R), Scale (S) controls
• Free Background Removal - Now runs locally at no credit cost
• Expanded Export - Added PLY, 3MF, DAE (Collada), Normal Map, TIFF-16, BMP-8, and SCU depth map formats
• AI Brush Textures - Generate custom sculpting brush textures from text descriptions
• Material Settings - Full control over shading, ambient occlusion, wireframe overlay, glossiness
• Drag & Drop - Drop files directly onto the application
• 25+ Languages - Expanded multilingual support

Quick Start Workflow

1. Load Your Image - Drag and drop any image onto the application, or click "Load Image" to browse. Supported: JPG, PNG, WEBP, TIFF, BMP.
2. Choose Your Mode - Select from Image to Relief, Image to 2D Vector, 3D to Relief, or Image to 3D.
3. Prepare Your Image (Optional) - Click "Edit Image" to enhance quality or expand cropped photos.
4. Configure Settings - Adjust Depth Scale, Details Scale, and Quality in the right panel.
5. Generate the 3D Model - Click "Generate" and wait for processing.
6. Refine (Optional) - Use Sculpting, Shape Creator, or AI textures.
7. Apply Advanced Tools (Optional) - Solidify, Frame, Depth Optimization, Create Mold, and more.
8. Export - STL, OBJ, GLB, PLY, 3MF, DAE, Depth Map, SVG, DXF, Normal Map.

Pro Tip: Image Quality Matters For best results, use images that are at least 1000x1000 pixels, well-lit with visible shadows, and have the subject clearly in focus. Portrait photos with natural lighting typically produce excellent reliefs.

Creation Modes

VistaSculpt offers four different modes depending on what you want to create. Select your mode from the dropdown menu at the top of the right panel before loading your file.

Image Preparation Tools

Access these by clicking "Edit Image" after loading an image.

• Enhance Image

  Improves quality of low-resolution, blurry, or noisy images using AI upscaling and facial enhancement. Reconstructs facial features to be sharp and well-defined.

  What It Fixes

  • Low Resolution - Upscales while adding realistic detail
  • Blur - Sharpens out-of-focus areas
  • Compression Artifacts - Removes JPEG blocking and noise
  • Old/Damaged Photos - Reconstructs missing detail in vintage photographs
• Expand Image

  Intelligently extends the edges of your image using AI-powered generative fill. Specify expansion amounts for each side (top, bottom, left, right) independently.

  When to Use: Cropped subjects, tight compositions, or when you need extra margin for framing.
• AI Relief Preview (Sculptify)

  For flat images like logos, text, or vector art where standard depth estimation doesn't work well. Uses AI to "imagine" how a flat image would look as a 3D relief.

  • Standard Mode - Analyzes existing shadows and lighting
  • AI Relief Preview - Creates depth from scratch based on shape recognition
  • Text Prompt - Optionally describe the style (e.g., "carved wood", "embossed metal")
  • Multi-Image Composition - Provide reference images for a combined design
• Generate Image (Text to Image)

  Create images from text descriptions using AI. Two generation modes:

  • Depth Map Generation - Generates depth maps optimized for relief conversion. Available in 1024x1024, 1536x1024, and 1024x1536.
  • Photorealistic Generation - Creates photorealistic images optimized for 3D reconstruction.

3D Relief Generation

These settings control how your image or 3D model is converted into a relief. They apply to both Image to Relief and 3D Model to Relief modes.

• Depth Scale Range: 0-20, Default: 3

  Controls the overall "height" of your relief.

  Value Guide

  • 0-2 (Very Low) - Extremely subtle, almost flat.
  • 3-5 (Low) - Subtle, coin-like relief. Default range.
  • 6-10 (Medium) - Noticeable depth. Recommended for most portraits.
  • 11-15 (High) - Dramatic, pronounced relief.
  • 16-20 (Very High) - Extreme depth. Use with caution.
• Details Scale Range: 0-100, Default: 50

  Controls surface texture intensity - pores, fabric weave, hair strands, wrinkles. Works independently from Depth Scale.

  Value Guide

  • 0-20 - Smooth, marble-like surfaces
  • 21-40 - Subtle detail, idealized look
  • 41-60 - Balanced (default)
  • 61-80 - Enhanced detail, realistic
  • 81-100 - Maximum texture (fur, scales, rough stone)
• Z Limit (Floor Cut) Range: 0-100, Default: 0

  Clips the top portion of the model by setting a height ceiling. Everything above the threshold is flattened. Only enabled when Depth Scale is greater than 0.

• Smoothing Surface: 0-100 | Edge: 0-100

  Surface Smoothing reduces noise and creates cleaner transitions. Edge Smoothing blends the sharp outline where the relief meets the background. Auto Mode (default) calculates values based on Details Scale.

• Quality Preset
  • Standard - Balanced quality for previewing and general use.
  • High - Default, production quality. Recommended for most final outputs.
  • Ultra Pro - Maximum detail. Requires 8GB+ RAM and credits.
• Detail Mode
  • Fine - Maximum texture detail resolution. Captures the finest surface features.
  • Standard - Balanced detail level. Default, recommended for most images.
  • Coarse - Reduced detail, smoother surfaces. Best for simple subjects or when you want a cleaner look.
• Remove Background

  Uses AI segmentation to isolate the subject and remove the image background before relief generation. Runs locally at no credit cost. When enabled, two additional outline controls appear:

  • Outline Round Width Range: 0-100, Default: 0 - Controls how far inward from the outline edge the rounding effect extends. Higher values create a wider transition zone.
  • Outline Round Intensity Range: 0-100, Default: 5 - Controls the strength of the rounding/bevel applied to the outline edge. Creates softer, rounder borders where the subject meets the background.
• AI Texture on Relief Pro

  Automatically paints an AI-generated color texture onto the relief after generation. Adds 3 credits to the cost.

2D Vector Generation

Vector Style Options

• Center Line

  Traces a single line through the center of each shape. Produces a single continuous path following the midline of strokes and edges.

  Best For: V-carving, single-pass laser engraving, handwriting outlines, pen plotter output.
• Outline

  Traces inner and outer edges of each shape, creating closed contour paths. Produces paired paths that define the boundary of every element.

  Best For: Laser cutting, multi-pass engravings, profile cutting, stencil creation.

Workflow

1. Select Mode - Choose "Image to 2D Vectors" from the mode dropdown at the top of the right panel.
2. Load an Image - Load or drag and drop a high-contrast image (logos, text, line drawings, silhouettes work best).
3. Choose Style - Select Center Line or Outline depending on your output needs.
4. Generate - Click "Export 2D Vectors." Costs 3 credits per generation.
5. Export - Download as SVG (for Lightburn, LaserGRBL) or DXF (for AutoCAD, Vectric V-Carve, Fusion 360).

Tips for Best Results

• Use high-contrast images with clear edges (black on white, or simple colors)
• Logos, text, icons, and silhouettes produce the cleanest vector paths
• Avoid photographs with gradients - use Image to Relief for those instead
• Clean up noisy images with the Enhance Image tool first
• For complex designs, consider using Remove Background to isolate the subject

Vector Library VistaSculpt includes a built-in library of pre-made line art designs (File → Vector Library). Browse and load ready-to-use vector templates for common motifs and patterns.

3D Model Generation New in 1.2.2

Workflow

1. Load an Image - Select "Image to 3D" from the mode dropdown, then load your photo.
2. Choose Output Type - "Geometry Only" (free) or "Texture + PBR" (6 credits).
3. Generate - Click "Generate 3D Model." Processing takes approximately 7 minutes.
4. Post-Processing - VistaSculpt automatically cleans the mesh: removes non-manifold geometry, fills holes, fixes face orientation, optimizes topology.
5. Use Your Model - Sculpt it, apply textures, convert to relief, or export directly.

Output Types

Smart Caching

• Level 1 (Exact Match) - Same image + same settings = instant load, no credits used.
• Level 2 (Raw Cache) - Same image, different settings = only local remeshing is repeated.

Tips for Best Results

• Use a clean, uncluttered background
• Subject should occupy most of the frame
• Good lighting with minimal harsh shadows
• Clearly defined shapes work best (figurines, products, animals)
• Symmetrical subjects produce more accurate reconstructions

Sculpting Tools

Click "Sculpting" to enter manual editing mode. All edits happen in real-time with GPU-accelerated rendering.

Essential Sculpt Shortcuts

Brush Types

Brush Settings

• Brush Size - Radius. Hold F + drag or use slider. Each brush remembers its own size.
• Brush Strength - Intensity. Hold S + drag or use slider. Each brush remembers its own strength.
• Auto Smooth - Automatically smooths after each stroke (Draw, Pinch, Flatten, Deform, Noise).
• Dynamic Radius - For Draw brush: auto-adjusts size based on camera distance.
• Normal Radius - Area used to calculate surface normals for brush direction.
• Texture Rotation / Repetitions - For Noise brush: rotate and tile the pattern.
• Add / Subtract Toggle - Switches between adding and removing material.

AI Brush Textures New

Generate custom brush textures from text descriptions to use with the Noise / Texture brush. Two generation modes:

• Single - Generates a centered object texture (e.g., "dragon scale", "leaf imprint", "paw print")
• Tiling - Generates a seamless repeating pattern (e.g., "brick wall", "chainmail", "woven fabric")

Costs 3 credits per generation. Generated textures are loaded directly into the Noise brush and can be applied by painting on the surface. Adjust Texture Rotation and Texture Repetitions to control how the pattern appears.

Remesh (Increase Detail) New

How It Works

1. Click "Remesh (Increase Detail)" - A dialog appears showing your current polygon count and a slider to choose a new target.
2. Choose target polygons - The slider defaults to double your current count. For smooth, detailed sculpting results, aim for at least 2-3 million polygons.
3. The mesh is rebuilt - VistaSculpt captures a depth snapshot of your model and reconstructs it as a uniform grid mesh with evenly distributed polygons. This replaces irregular triangle shapes with a clean, regular topology optimized for sculpting.

Why Remesh Matters

• Texture / Noise brush quality - The Noise brush displaces individual vertices. With too few vertices, patterns like "skin pores" or "stone texture" become crude staircases instead of smooth, detailed surfaces. More polygons = finer texture resolution.
• Draw brush precision - Higher polygon density means smoother strokes and finer control when adding or carving details.
• Even topology - Remeshing replaces stretched or irregular triangles with uniform geometry, preventing sculpting artifacts in areas with poor mesh quality.

Limits

• The maximum polygon count is capped by your Mesh Resolution setting (Settings menu).
• The button is automatically disabled when the mesh is already at or near (80%) the maximum resolution.
• If you enter sculpt mode with fewer than 500,000 polygons, VistaSculpt automatically prompts you to remesh first.

Mesh Resolution (Global Setting)

Access via Settings → Mesh Resolution. This global setting controls the maximum polygon count used throughout VistaSculpt - for relief generation, importing, merging, sculpt remeshing, mold creation, and export.

How It Works

• A single slider controls the target polygon count, from a minimum of 500,000 up to a maximum determined by your system's available RAM.
• The default is set to 75% of your system's maximum.
• All mesh operations throughout VistaSculpt are capped at this value - no operation will exceed it.

RAM-Based Limits

Higher isn't always better Very high polygon counts require more RAM and slow down sculpting, export, and generation. Choose a resolution that balances detail quality with your system's performance. For most users, 2-4 million polygons provides excellent results.

Shape Creator New in 1.2.2

Drawing Tools

• Polyline - Click to place points for lines/polygons
• Arc - Create curved segments
• Rectangle - Click and drag for rectangular shapes
• Selection Tool - Select existing shapes for editing
• Scissors - Cut line segments to split shapes

Shape Operations

• Delete / Duplicate - Remove or copy selected shapes
• Offset - Inward/outward copies at specified distance
• Close Loop - Close open polylines into polygons
• Mirror Horizontal / Vertical - Flip shapes along an axis

Text Shapes

Insert text as vector shapes with controls for font family, size, bold, italic, alignment, letter spacing, and line spacing.

Extrusion Profiles

20 built-in profile presets control the cross-section of the extrusion. Each icon shows the curve shape that defines how the profile tapers from top to bottom:

Flat Flat Mid Slope Gentle Slope Convex Concave Round Cove S-Curve Ogee Bevel Step Double Step Crown Wave Bump Scoop Cyma Torus Filled

You can also draw a custom cross-section profile using the Profile Drawing Panel.

Extrusion Parameters

• Thickness / Height - Extrusion height
• Twist - Rotation along extrusion height
• Bevel - Chamfered/rounded edge
• Base Height - Raises shape above ground plane
• Z-Offset - Vertical shift in scene
• Rotation X / Y - Tilt in 3D space
• Roundness - Edge rounding
• Extrude Both Directions - Extends up and down
• Engrave Mode - Subtracts shape from existing mesh using depth map carving

Nesting Support Inner shapes (holes) nested within outer shapes are automatically detected and subtracted during extrusion (e.g., the letter "O" with its hollow center).

Textures & Materials New in 1.2.2

Model Texture Control Panel

Access the texture panel by clicking the texture button on a selected model. The panel provides two tabs for applying visual surface textures to your 3D model:

Recently Used Textures

The texture panel maintains a history of recently used textures per model, allowing you to quickly switch between previously applied textures without regenerating them.

Material Settings

Access via Settings → Material Settings to control the overall visual appearance of all models in the viewport:

• Model Colors - Default and selected model colors via color picker
• Shininess (0-100) - Controls specular highlight intensity
• Glossiness (1-128) - Controls the tightness/spread of specular highlights
• Shading Mode - Switch between Flat (faceted, shows individual polygons) and Smooth (interpolated normals, smooth surface appearance)
• Ambient Occlusion (SSAO) - Screen Space Ambient Occlusion adds realistic contact shadows in crevices and between surfaces. Configurable radius, bias, and kernel size.
• Wireframe Overlay - Toggle wireframe mesh visualization on top of the solid model
• Scene Background Color - Customize the viewport background

PBR Material Support

Models generated via Image to 3D with the "Texture + PBR" output type include full physically-based rendering material data:

• Albedo / Base Color - The surface color map
• Normal Map - Surface detail and micro-geometry for realistic lighting
• Roughness Map - Controls matte vs. glossy appearance per pixel
• Metallic Map - Defines which areas are metallic vs. dielectric
• Occlusion Map - Pre-baked ambient occlusion for additional depth

PBR materials are preserved when exporting to GLB/GLTF formats. Textures are also supported when exporting to OBJ and DAE formats, making them suitable for use in game engines (Unity, Unreal), web viewers (Sketchfab), and AR/VR applications.

Advanced Modeling Tools

Powerful tools for operations on your entire model. Found in the left panel as icon buttons.

Scene Management & Export

Working with Multiple Objects

• Select - Click in list or viewport. Shift for multi-select. Ctrl + A select all.
• Copy / Paste - Ctrl + C / Ctrl + V
• Transform - Move (G), Rotate (R), Scale (S) with gizmos
• Show/Hide - Eye icon or H. Hidden objects are not exported.
• Delete / Rename / Duplicate / Mirror - Via context menu or shortcuts
• Merge - Ctrl + J

Transform Gizmo New

• Move (G) - 3-axis translation with color-coded arrows
• Rotate (R) - 3-axis rotation rings
• Scale (S) - 3-axis scaling with dimensional readout (Length/Height/Thickness)
• Lock Proportions - Maintain proportional scaling
• Quick Actions - Reset Scale, Reset Position, Center Model, Auto Orient

Viewport Controls

• Depth View (Ctrl + D) - Grayscale depth visualization Pro
• Toggle Wireframe (Ctrl + W)
• Toggle Bounding Box (Ctrl + B) - With dimension labels
• Toggle Grid (Ctrl + G) - Parametric grid with major/minor lines
• Perspective / Orthographic toggle
• Light Controls - Three-point lighting (key, fill, rim)
• Measurement Tool New - Click two points to measure distance. Multiple measurements supported.
• Reference Images New - Import overlay images with position, rotation, scale, opacity controls.

File Operations

• New / Load / Save (Ctrl + S) / Save As - VSW project files
• Import Model - STL, OBJ, PLY, GLB
• Import Height Map New - PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF, WEBP, SCU
• Vector Library - Pre-made line art designs
• Recent Files - Last 5 projects
• Drag & Drop New - Drop files directly onto the application

Export Formats

3D Mesh Formats

Depth Map & Vector Formats

Export Options

• Include Texture - For OBJ, GLB, and DAE exports.
• Close Bottom (Make Solid) New - Flat base for watertight 3D printing. Default on for reliefs.
• Quad Topology - For OBJ/PLY, output quads instead of triangles.
• Scale - Physical dimensions in mm or inches.
• Export Perimeter Vectors - SVG/DXF outline paths (right-click context menu).

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Transform Gizmo

Viewport

Sculpting Mode (Hold)

Credits & Generation Limits

Relief Generation Limits

Re-generating Doesn't Count! Adjusting sliders and regenerating the same image reuses cached depth data. Only processing a new image uses a generation slot.

Credit Costs

Credits are only deducted on successful completion. Failed or cancelled operations keep your credits.

Purchasing Credits

Click the credits display in the toolbar to open the purchase dialog. Credits are available in packages - larger packages offer better value per credit. All payments are processed securely through Stripe. Regional pricing is applied automatically.

License Tiers

• Pro - All features including Depth View, Frame, Depth Optimization, AI Enhancer, Ultra quality. 5 generations/3h with credit extras.
• Hobby - Core features. 3 generations/3h. Some tools require Pro.
• Demo / Expired - 2 generations/48h. Exports include watermark.

Troubleshooting

Supported Languages

VistaSculpt supports 25+ languages (Settings → Language, requires restart):

English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Chinese (Simplified), Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Telugu, Turkish, Korean, Vietnamese, Tamil, Urdu, Malay, Persian (Farsi), Swahili, and more.