VistaSculp v.0.9.6

Main Toolbar (First Row)

• 📁 File (Dropdown Menu):
  • 📝 New: Start fresh. Wipes out what you're working on (it will ask if you want to save first!).
  • 📂 Load Project: Open a VistaSculp project you saved earlier (a .vsw file).
  • 💾 Save Project (Ctrl-S): Saves everything you're working on. If it's the first time, it'll ask for a name.
  • 💾 Save As...: Save your current work with a new name or in a new place.
  • 🧸 Import 3D Model: Bring in a 3D model you already have (STL or PLY files).
  • 🗻 Import Depth Map: Use a special picture (height map) to make a 3D model. These pictures tell the computer how high or low each part should be.
  • ✒️ Vector Library: Look at and use 2D line drawings you've made before with VistaSculp.
  • 🚪 Exit: Close VistaSculp. It will ask if you want to save your work.
• 🔑 License Manager: Check your VistaSculp key (license), type in a new one, or find out how to buy or renew.
• 🖼️ Texture: Pick a picture to "paint" onto your 3D model, like wallpaper on a wall.
• 🟡 Toggle Texture/Material: Switch between seeing your model with the picture texture or with its plain default color.
• 🪒 Remove Plane: Opens a tool to slice off a part of your 3D model using a flat cutting plane. You can also add a new flat background with a picture on it.

• 📐 Depth Optimization: A smart tool that can make the bottom of your 3D model thinner while keeping the details on top. Good if your material isn't very thick.

• 🧩 Solidify: Makes your 3D model solid by closing any open bottom, making it "watertight" for 3D printing.
• ✂️ Crop: Opens a special window where you can draw shapes on a flat view of your model to cut parts out.

• 🔲 Frame: Lets you add a cool border around your 3D model. You can pick a simple rectangle, a rounded one, or choose a fancy frame from a library.

Secondary Toolbar (Second Row)

• 🗻 Depth View: Changes how your model looks to show its depth using colors, like a weather map shows temperature.

• 🏐 Show Vertices: Lets you see the "skeleton" (wireframe) of your model or just the points (vertices) it's made of, instead of the solid surface.
• 🟥 Toggle Bounding Box: Shows or hides a red box that perfectly fits around your 3D model, showing its total size.
• ↩️ Undo: Oops! Click this to go back one step if you made a major change to the 3D model (like adding a frame or cropping). For brush strokes, use Ctrl+Z or the small undo button in the Brushes section.
• ░ Toggle Grid: Shows or hides a helpful grid and colored axis lines (X, Y, Z) in the 3D view.
• 💡 Light: Opens sliders to change how bright the light shining on your model is, and where the light is coming from.
• ↓ View Top / ← View Left / → View Right: Quickly look at your model from directly above, the left side, or the right side.

📷 Load Image

This is how you start with your own picture!

1. Click the "📷 Load Image" button.
2. A window will pop up. Find the picture file on your computer (like a .PNG, .JPG, or .WEBP).
3. Select it and click "Open".

If your picture is super big (more than 2000 pixels wide or tall), VistaSculp will make it a bit smaller so it works faster.

VistaSculp might also offer "Image Restoration" (costs 2 credits)

if your image is small or blurry. This is optional but can make your picture look much better before turning it into 3D.

If you choose to skip these AI steps, your picture will be used as-is for making the 3D model.

🎨 Generate Image

• Description: Type in what you want the picture to be. For example, "a dragon sleeping on a pile of gold" or "a peaceful forest scene."
• Resolution: Pick how big you want the picture:
  • 1024x1024 (square)
  • 1792x1024 (wide like a movie screen)
  • 1024x1792 (tall like a poster)

• Generate Button: Click this to tell the AI to start drawing. This costs credits: 2 credits for square, 3 credits for wide or tall.

• Image History: On the right side of this pop-up window, you'll see small versions (thumbnails) of pictures the AI has made for you before. Click one to see it bigger in the preview. You can also delete old ones.
• Apply Button: Likes the picture in the preview? Click this to use it for making your 3D model.
• Export Image Button: Save the picture from the preview to your computer.

Picture Preview Area

A small version of your currently loaded or AI-generated picture will show up here. Below it, you'll see its size in pixels (e.g., "800 x 600").

Toolbar (At the top of the Edit Image window)

• Credits Display: Shows how many special AI "credits" you have.
• ↩️ Undo / ↪️ Redo: Go back if you make a mistake, or redo if you went back too far. These only work for changes made in this Edit Image window.

• Export Image (💎5): Saves the picture you're currently editing to a new file on your computer. This costs 5 credits.

Picture Changing Tools (Buttons)

Click a button to activate its tool. Some tools show sliders below the image preview for adjustments. When you click a tool that uses sliders (like Rotate, Perspective, Crop), the sliders will appear. Clicking another tool will hide the previous tool's sliders and show the new ones.

• Mirror ↔️: Flips your picture left-to-right, like looking in a mirror. This change happens right away.
• Rotate 🔄: Shows a slider. Drag it to spin your picture around (-180° to +180°). You'll see the change in the preview. Click "Apply" at the bottom to make it permanent.

• Perspective 🧊: Shows two sliders. These let you tilt your picture as if you're looking at it from an angle, making it look like it's leaning back or to the side. Preview changes and click "Apply" to make permanent.

• Crop 🔳: Shows four sliders (Top, Left, Right, Bottom). Drag them to cut away parts of your picture from the edges. The preview shows a shaded area for what will be cut. Click "Apply" to make the crop permanent.

• Remove Background 🏕️: Tries to magically cut out the main subject of your picture and remove everything else behind it, making the background transparent. This uses an AI cloud service and costs 1 credit. Change happens right away.

• Expand Image 🖼️: Makes your picture bigger by having AI draw more image around the edges (this is called outpainting). Shows sliders for how much to add to the Top, Left, Right, and Bottom. After adjusting sliders, click the "Expand (💎2)" button that appears below them. This uses an AI cloud service and costs 2 credits.

• Enhance Image ✨: A powerful tool that tries to make your picture look better, especially good for improving faces. It can make things sharper and clearer. This uses local tools and an AI cloud service, costing 2 credits. Change happens right away.

• AI Relief Preview 🎨: This is the same "AI Relief Preview" you saw when first loading your image. It lets you see an AI's guess of the 3D shape based on the current state of your picture in the editor. Daily free tries and credit costs apply. If you choose to use the AI's result, it will replace your image in the editor.

Action Buttons (At the bottom of the Edit Image window)

• Apply: This button "locks in" any changes you made with the Rotate, Perspective, or Crop sliders. If you used tools like Mirror, Remove Background, etc., those changes happened instantly and don't need this Apply button.
• Restore Default ❌: Throws away all changes you made in this Edit Image window and brings back the picture as it was when you first opened this editing tool (or to the original loaded image if no prior edits).
• Reset Sliders 🔁: If you've moved any of the Rotate, Perspective, Crop, or Expand sliders, this button will appear. Click it to set all those sliders back to zero without applying their changes.
• Close: Closes the Edit Image window. If you made changes with the sliders but didn't click "Apply", those slider changes will be forgotten and your image will revert to how it was before you moved those specific sliders. Changes from instant tools (Mirror, Remove BG, etc.) will remain.

The big picture preview in the Edit Image window updates as you move the sliders, so you can see what you're doing!

Parameters (Sliders & Checkboxes)

• Depth Scale:

  This is the most important setting for how "3D" your model looks. It controls how much the highest parts of your sculpture stick out from the lowest parts (the background).

  • Low Value (e.g., 1-2): Makes a flatter relief, like a coin. Good for subtle effects or if your image doesn't have a lot of natural depth.
  • Medium Value (e.g., 3-5): A good starting point for most images. Creates a noticeable 3D effect.
  • High Value (e.g., 6-10): Makes a very deep relief, with parts sticking out a lot. Can be dramatic, but might look strange if the image isn't suited for it.
  Range: 0 to 10. Default: 3. If this is 0, the "Z Limit" slider won't do anything.
• Details Scale:

  This slider decides how much the small bright and dark details in your picture get turned into tiny bumps and dips on the 3D surface. It's like adding texture.

  • Low Value (e.g., 1-30): Smoother surface, fewer tiny details. Good if your image is noisy, has strong shadows you want to ignore, or has very high contrast (big differences between light and dark).
  • Medium Value (e.g., 30-70): A balanced amount of detail. Usually a good starting point.
  • High Value (e.g., 70-100): Lots of fine detail. Can make detailed images look great, but might make noisy or shadowy images look too busy or create unwanted artifacts (weird bumps).
  Tips for Details Scale:

  • If your picture has very strong lights and darks (high contrast), try a lower Details Scale. Too much detail on a high-contrast image can look "digital" or overly sharp.
  • If your picture has clear, dark shadows, also try a lower Details Scale. VistaSculp might try to make 3D shapes out of the shadows themselves. Less detail helps it focus on the actual objects.
  • If your picture is very smooth or blurry, a higher Details Scale might not add much useful detail and could just bring out noise.
  Range: 1 to 100. Default: 50.
• Simplification Factor:

  3D models are made of tiny flat triangles (polygons). This slider controls how many triangles are used. Fewer triangles mean a "simpler" model.

  • Low Value (e.g., 1-5): Uses more triangles, keeps more detail, but the model file might be bigger and your computer might run slower when editing it.
  • High Value (e.g., 10-50): Uses fewer triangles, makes a much simpler model. Good for speed, but you might lose some fine details.
  Range: 1 to 50. Default: 1 (not much simplification at first). If your picture is very big, VistaSculp will automatically use a higher minimum value here to keep things running smoothly.
• Z Limit:

  This lifts the "floor" or background of your 3D model up, closer to the parts that stick out. It makes the whole sculpture feel like it's on a thicker base, and can make the parts that stick out seem even more prominent without actually changing their height.

  Range: 0% to 100%. Default: 0%. This slider only has an effect if "Depth Scale" is set to a value greater than 0.
• Smoothing:

  This helps to smooth out the surface of the 3D model before the fine details are added. It can reduce jagged edges or a "blocky" look.

  • Slider/SpinBox: If "Auto" is unchecked, you can pick exactly how much smoothing you want.
  • Auto Checkbox: When this is checked (it is by default), VistaSculp cleverly chooses a good smoothing amount based on your "Details Scale" setting. Generally, if you have high details, it uses less smoothing, and vice-versa. This is usually the best option.
  Range: 0 to 100. Default: Usually around 3 if "Auto" is off, or automatically set if "Auto" is on.
• Optimize Polygons (Checkbox):

  If this is checked (it is by default), after the 3D model is first made, VistaSculp does an extra step to make its internal structure (the arrangement of tiny triangles) simpler and more efficient. This often makes editing the model later (like with brushes) feel much smoother and faster, without losing much visible detail.

• Select Quality (Dropdown):

  This setting tells VistaSculp how much detail to look for in your 2D picture when it's first figuring out the 3D shape. "Higher" quality means it uses a more detailed "plan" (a bigger internal image), which can lead to a more detailed 3D model, but it will take longer for your computer to process.

  • Fast: Quickest, but might miss some fine details. Good for a first look. (Uses a 518 pixel wide or tall plan).
  • Medium: A good balance of speed and detail. (950 pixels).
  • High: More detail, takes a bit longer. (1200 pixels).

  • Ultra: The most detail, but also the slowest. Use this for your final, best version. (1300 pixels).

  Using Medium or High quality needs about 7GB of your computer's RAM (memory). Ultra needs at least 15GB. If you don't have enough, VistaSculp will warn you and automatically pick a lower quality that your computer can handle.

🧸 Generate 3D Model (Button)

Once you're happy with your settings, click this big button! VistaSculp will start working its magic. A window will pop up showing you what it's doing (like "Calculating Depth," "Processing Faces," "Creating 3D Model"). This can take a few moments, especially with high quality settings.

VistaSculp uses its smart AI Depth Engine to understand your picture, special computer vision for faces, and clever math to build the 3D mesh. If your picture has faces, it even uses extra tools (included with VistaSculp) to make those faces look really good and detailed in 3D.

⯐ Scale (Left Panel)

These controls change the actual physical size of your 3D model, as if you were setting dimensions for 3D printing or CNC.

• Length (X) mm: How wide your model is (side to side).
• Height (Y) mm: How tall your model is (top to bottom).
• Thickness (Z) mm: How deep your model is (front to back, or how much it sticks out).
You can type numbers in the boxes or click and drag inside the boxes to change the values quickly.
• 🔁 Reset Button: Puts the model back to its original size when it was first created or imported.
• 🔒 Aspect Ratio Checkbox:
  • Checked (Locked): If you change one size (like Length), the Height and Thickness will change automatically to keep the model's shape the same (no stretching or squashing).
  • Unchecked: You can change Length, Height, and Thickness separately, which might stretch or squash the model.

↻ Rotation (Left Panel)

These sliders let you spin your 3D model around. The model in the 3D view will update as you drag the sliders, but the changes aren't "permanent" until you click "Apply".

• Rotate X/Y/Z Sliders: Drag to rotate the model around the Red (X), Green (Y), or Blue (Z) axis lines you see in the grid. Values go from -180° to +180°. While you're rotating with sliders, the size numbers (X, Y, Z dimensions) at the bottom of the 3D view will turn yellow. This means the rotation isn't permanent yet.
• 🔁 Reset Button: Sets all rotation sliders back to 0.
• Apply Button: Makes the current rotation permanent. The size numbers will turn white again, and the 3D model's actual geometry is updated. This button turns blue when you've moved a rotation slider and the change isn't permanent yet.

🖌 Brushes (Left Panel)

These are like digital sculpting tools. To use them: Hold down the key (T, G, or V) on your keyboard, then move your mouse over the 3D model in the center view. The part of the model under your mouse will change.

• T - Add Material: Makes the surface stick out more where your mouse is.
• G - Remove Material: Pushes the surface in where your mouse is.
• V - Flattening: Smooths out the surface, making it flatter.
• ↩️ Undo Button (or Ctrl+Z on your keyboard): This small undo button next to the "Brushes" title is specifically for undoing brush strokes. It will undo the last few small changes made by the brushes. This is different from the main "Undo" button in the toolbar, which undoes larger operations like adding a frame or cropping.
• Brush Strength Slider: Makes the brush effect stronger (big changes) or weaker (small changes).
• Brush Size Slider: Changes how big an area the brush affects. A bigger size changes more of the model at once.
• Normal Radius Slider: This is a bit more technical. It affects how the brush "feels" the shape of the surface. A smaller radius makes the brush follow tiny details more closely. A larger radius makes it act more on the overall slope of the area.

Right-Click Menu (When you right-click on the 3D model)

This menu gives you quick access to more tools:

• Delete: Gets rid of the current 3D model.
• Export Perimeter Vectors: Looks at the model from the top, finds its outline, and saves that outline as a 2D line drawing (SVG or DXF file).
• Crop With Offset: Lets you draw a shape on a top-down view of your model. Then, you can make that shape a bit smaller (offset inwards) and cut away everything outside the smaller shape.
• Remesh: Rebuilds your 3D model from scratch using its current shape. This can sometimes fix problems or clean up messy geometry after a lot of editing.
• Mirror: Flips your model horizontally (left becomes right, right becomes left).
• Center Model: Moves your model so its very center is at the middle of the 3D world (where the X, Y, and Z lines cross).
• Move: Opens a little window where you can type in exact amounts to move your model along the X, Y, or Z directions.

• Fill Holes: Tries to find any open holes in your 3D model and patch them up. A window will show you the detected holes (in red); you click on the ones you want to fill (they turn green), then apply.

• Add 3D Element: Lets you pick another 3D model file (STL) and add it into your current scene. You can then move, resize, and rotate this new element.

• Smooth Side Edge: If your model has sharp edges where the main surface meets the side walls (like after using "Solidify" or adding a "Frame"), this tool can make those edges smoother and more rounded.

↩️ Undo (Main Toolbar vs. Brush Undo)

VistaSculp has two types of "Undo":

• Main Toolbar Undo (↩️ Undo): This undo button is on the second row of the top toolbar. It's for undoing major changes to your 3D model, like:
  • Adding a Frame
  • Cropping the model (using the Crop Tool or Offset Crop)
  • Applying Depth Optimization
  • Solidifying the model
  • Adding a 3D Element
  • Applying a "Remove Plane" cut
  This undo remembers a limited number of these big steps.
• Brush Undo (↩️ button in Left Panel OR Ctrl+Z): This small undo button is next to the "🖌 Brushes" title in the Left Panel. You can also use the Ctrl+Z keyboard shortcut. This undo is specifically for reversing the last few strokes you made with the sculpting brushes (T, G, or V keys). It remembers many small brush adjustments (up to 300 steps).

🔲 Frame

• Frame Shape (Dropdown):
  • Rectangle ⬜: Makes a box-shaped frame.
    • You can change its Thickness, the Angle of the inside edge (like a bevel), how far the Inner Offset is from your art, Move it left/right (X) or up/down (Y), choose to Fill Bottom (make a solid base for the frame), and adjust Roundness Ratios (to make the rectangle sides bulge or curve).
  • Rounded ⚪: Makes a smooth, curvy frame (like an oval or circle).
    • Has the same controls as the Rectangle, but Roundness Ratios will shape the ellipse.
  • Library 📚: Pick a fancy frame design from a collection of 3D (STL) files.
    • Thumbnail Browser: Shows little pictures of available frames. Click one to select it. You can also Upload your own STL frame file.
    • You can then Scale (resize) it, Move it, Rotate it, and even Mirror (flip) it.
• Auto Crop (Checkbox): If this is checked (it is by default), any part of your main 3D art that's *underneath* the solid part of the frame will be cut away. If you uncheck it, the frame is just added on top or around your art.
• Apply Button: Creates the frame with your settings and adds it to your model.

You'll see a preview of the frame in the 3D view (orange for Rectangle/Rounded, green for Library frames) as you change the settings.

🪒 Remove Plane

This tool lets you slice your 3D model with a flat plane. Everything above the plane is kept, and everything below is removed.

• Cut Position Slider: Drag this to move the cutting plane up or down through your model.
• Create Side Walls (Checkbox): If checked (it is by default), new flat sides will be added along the cut edge, making your model look solid where it was cut.
• Create Background (Dropdown Section): If you want a flat base under your cut model:
  • Upload Texture: Pick a picture to put on the new background plane.
  • Texture Library: Choose from ready-to-use textures found in the "Background" folder.
  • Texture Scale (%): Makes the texture pattern on the background bigger or smaller (tiling).
  • Depth / Details Scale: If your texture has some 3D-like information (or from its brightness), this makes the background plane bumpy or detailed based on that texture.
• Plane Size / Position (Dropdown Section, only if "Create Background" is on):
  • Plane Length (X) mm / Plane Height (Y) mm: Sets how wide and tall the new background plane will be. It starts at the size of your main model.
  • Plane X Offset / Plane Y Offset: Lets you shift the background plane left/right or up/down relative to your main model.
• Apply Button: Makes the cut and, if you chose, adds the background.

You'll see the cutting plane in the 3D view (it's red, or shows the texture if you're making a background) as you move the slider.

📐 Depth Optimization

The higher you set the strength, the more the bottom parts of your model will be "squashed" up towards the top details.

🧩 Solidify

If your 3D model is like an empty shell with an open bottom, this tool tries to close it up. It finds the edges around the bottom, pulls them straight down to the very lowest point of your model, and adds a flat base. This makes the model "watertight," which is important for 3D printing so it doesn't have holes.

✂️ Crop Tool

This opens a special window where you can cut out parts of your 3D model very precisely.

• The window shows your model from the top, like a flat drawing.
• You left-click to draw a shape (polygon) around the part you want to keep or remove. You can draw more than one shape. The lines will snap to points you've already drawn to help you close shapes.
• Toggle Inside/Outside: Choose if you want to keep what's inside your drawn shape(s) or what's outside. The area to be changed is shown with a colored overlay (red means it will be deleted, green means it will be kept).
• Crop Button: Makes the cut based on your drawing and choice.
• Undo Vector: Removes the last point or line segment you drew.
• Revert Crop: Undoes the last big "Crop" action you did in this tool.
• Close Button: Closes the crop tool window.

📥 Export 3D Model (Right Panel Button)

When your 3D model is ready, use this to save it in different 3D file types.

You need a valid license to save your 3D models.

• STL (.stl): This is a common file type for 3D printers. It saves the shape of your model.
• PLY (.ply): Another 3D file type. It can save the shape, colors, and even texture information if you've added any.
• Depth Maps (special pictures showing depth):
  • PNG-16 (.png): A high-quality grayscale (black & white) picture where lighter parts are higher and darker parts are lower. "16-bit" means it has lots of shades of gray for smooth depth.
  • BMP-8 (.bmp): An 8-bit grayscale picture for depth. Simpler than PNG-16, fewer shades of gray.
  • TIFF-16 (.tiff): Another high-quality 16-bit grayscale picture for depth.
  • SCU-8 (.scu): A special 8-bit depth picture format used by ArtCAM software. VistaSculp uses an external tool to make this. It will ask if you want "High Relief" (more pop-out) or "Bas Relief" (flatter).
• Normal Map (.png): This is a special colored picture that tells other 3D programs how light should bounce off your model's surface. It helps make 2D pictures look 3D or adds extra detail in games and animations.

🖊️ Generate 2D Vectors (Right Panel Button)

How it works:

1. When you click it the first time for an image, a window pops up:
   • It tells you it costs 3 credits and shows your current credit balance.
   • It has a "📁 Library" button: Click this to see line drawings you've made before, or to pick any picture from that library to turn into vectors now (still costs credits if it's a new picture for vector generation).
   • The "Generate 2D" button will start the process (if you have enough credits).
2. After it processes your image (it uses AI to find the lines), another window appears. It shows you two different styles of line drawings:
   • Center Line: Tries to find the "skeleton" or middle line of all the lines in your picture.
   • Outline: Traces around the edges of the shapes in your picture.
   (You can hover your mouse over these previews to zoom in and see the details!)
3. You click on the style you like best.
4. VistaSculp remembers your choice and the first line art it made. The button on the Right Panel might change its text (e.g., to "Preview 2D Vectors").
5. Clicking the button again will show the style comparison window again, using the line art it already made, so you can change your style choice *without* paying more credits.
6. A window then shows a preview of your chosen vector style (as a PNG image). In this window, there's an "📥 Export 2D Vectors" button. Click that to save your lines as:
   • SVG (.svg): A common vector file type for web and design.
   • DXF (.dxf): Used by many CAD and cutting machine programs.

This tool uses smart computer vision tricks to find and clean up the lines in your picture.

🔑 License Manager (from Top Toolbar)

This is where you manage your VistaSculp license key.

• It shows your current license key (if you have one), what type it is (Demo, Hobby, or Pro), and when it expires.
• If you're a Pro user, it also shows how many AI "credits" you have and when your free monthly credits might renew. There's a "❓ Help" link that explains more about how credits work.
• You can type in a new license key here. VistaSculp will check it online.
• There's a "Purchase License 🔑" button that takes you to the VistaSculp website to buy or upgrade your license.
• Pro users might also see buttons to "💎 Buy More Credits" or "🔄 Renew License 🔑".

You need an internet connection for VistaSculp to check your license and get credit information. Your license is linked to your computer.

💎 Credits System (for Pro Users)

If you have a Pro license, some of the very advanced AI tools use "credits". Think of them like tokens for special tasks.

Features that use credits:

• AI Image Generation: Making a new picture from text costs 2 credits (for a square 1024x1024 picture) or 3 credits (for bigger rectangle pictures).
• Picture CPR (Restoration): Fixing up your image with AI costs 2 credits.
• Magic Background Eraser: Removing the background costs 1 credit.
• Picture Stretcher (Expansion): Making your image bigger with AI costs 2 credits.
• AI Relief Preview: You get 10 free tries per day. If you use them up, it costs 3 credits for each extra preview.
• Generate 2D Vectors: Making the first set of 2D line art from an image costs 3 credits. Looking at different styles from that same line art again is free.
• Export Edited Image: Saving the picture after you've used the "⚙️ Edit Image" tools costs 5 credits.

How Credits Work for Pro Users:

• You get 200 FREE credits every month!
• These free credits are only added if you have *less than* 200 credits. They don't stack on top of what you already have.
  • Example: If you have 150 credits, you'll get 50 more to bring you up to 200.
  • Example: If you have 300 credits (maybe you bought extra), you won't get any free ones that month until your balance drops below 200.
• Want more? You can buy extra credits anytime. Purchased credits NEVER expire and never reset. They stay in your license until you use them. This is great if you use VistaSculp a lot!
• When you use a feature that costs credits, VistaSculp will use your free monthly credits first, then any credits you've purchased.