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I have these two shapes with which I want to create a very simple 3D table using Illustrator or Photoshop?

First I tried to rotate the leg in Z axe to attach it to table top in Illustrator but I failed.

Now Im thinking to first change these both shapes into 3D and later connect them together somehow.

Anyway, how to create a simple 3D table using only a square and rectangle?


So far I've achieved this:

https://i.stack.imgur.com/7knoW.jpg

But the more I wanna see from the bottom view the more flatter it gets:

https://imgur.com/a/jurRa

If it can't be done properly in Illustrator then how to do it in Photoshop?

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    You do understand that illustrator does not make 3D
    – joojaa
    Apr 12, 2018 at 12:56
  • did you try using the 3D effects? Can you show us some of your failures so we can help you?
    – Luciano
    Apr 12, 2018 at 14:45

4 Answers 4

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Illustrator....


First, it's important to realize that Illustrator's 3D effects are object relative and NOT environment relative. What that means is each object is one "3D scene" it itself. The entire document is NOT a 3D scene and never will be. Illustrator is not a "3D application" it merely has a relatively basic 3D effect (which hasn't been updated in 10-15 years). If you want true 3D, where you can pan around an object, rotate everything in unison, change viewing angles, change perspective, etc, then you need an actual 3D application. Illustrator isn't going to cut it.


You can't do this with 1 step in Illustrator. You need to alter each piece separately.

For the base, merely choose Effects > 3d > Revolve, for the top you would want Effects > 3D > Extrude & Bevel. Then position the two obects correctly.

enter image description here

(I think perhaps the original size of the objects may need alteration to be a bit less, well, base-heavy in the end. I think that base is much too wide for the top. But these are the shapes you had.)

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  • I think when you revolve the leg, the OP has drawn both sides (drawn a vertical section through the leg) versus half, which is why you have a hollow in the middle of the leg. If you half the leg profile, it's actually not bad - still a bit tall for the table area, but not so base-heavy. Apr 12, 2018 at 15:34
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    Thanks @GerardFalla I know how to correct the issue, but I wanted to show what the original shapes resulted in to avoid any confusion.
    – Scott
    Apr 12, 2018 at 15:35
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Do you want to draw these things out yourself? Or use some kind of filter/tool?

If drawing it out yourself, you can try using Illustrator's "Perspective Grids" to help you frame your shape in 3D space and draw your shapes around that grid.

Otherwise, you can try using the Create 3D effects from Illustrator to extrude your elements.
https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/creating-3d-objects.html

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While Illustrator is not a 3D program it has all the artists tools for implying depth on a 2D plane.

To make your table look to be in simple 3D space you skew the edges towards the horizon line.

There are several ways.

You can skew the shapes all together by first using pathfinder Unite.

The Effect>3D>Rotate tool can make the table look like its receding into space.

Effects>Distort and Transform>Free Distort can be used to skew the table by dragging the upper corners towards the center.

Likewise without uniting the shapes you can skew them individually by hand, using the right arrow tool to bring the top corners in.

This generates the simplest profile of a table, of course. The next components I would add would be some thickness to the top and base. Then shadows, materials and textures.

For a true 3D but still simple table try SketchUp.

enter image description here

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  • It's so obvious and still I and probably many others, too didn't see nothing else than Effects > 3D. Thanks and +1 for the kick.
    – user82991
    Apr 15, 2018 at 7:14
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If you are using Illustrator in a Creative Cloud environment, and you have AfterEffects (and therefore Cinema 4d Lite) it may be worth downloading Maxon's C4D & Illustrator connector plugin for Illustrator, as this allows you to use actual 3D content inside illustrator, in a specific fashion.

You could therefore create your table as a 3D mesh in C4D, and then bring that into Illustrator to graphically version as you saw fit.

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