Creating 3D Text Without Blender
Hey y’all. It’s Macaw. This tutorial will cover each step in creating 3D text without the use of Blender.
Programs needed:
- Paint 3D. This will be hard-installed on every Windows computer, so there’s no downloading required. If for some reason, you don’t have it installed, get it here.
Instructions
Part One: Opening and Setting Up Paint 3D
Go to the search bar in the bottom left corner of your computer, type in “Paint 3D,” and click on the Paint 3D Application that pops up.
If you’re presented with a welcome screen, select “New.” This will open up a fresh, blank canvas.
Now select “Canvas” at the top of the screen, and turn “Show Canvas” off.
Part Two: Making and Customizing the 3D Text
Select “Text” at the top of your screen. This will allow us to actually put in the words we want.
Now click and drag to create a text box. You’ll see marching ants.
From there, you can do a multitude of things to customize your text. See the picture below.
1- Extend the text box to the left and right.
2- Extend the text box up and down.
3- Write your text. Alternatively, just copy-paste in your text
4- Rotate your text.
Customization continued.
Remember to highlight the text you want to edit.
5- Zoom in and out, using a bar
6- Zoom in and out, using input
7- Change the font. (Preinstalled fonts cover Latin scripts only)
8- Change the color. The resulting mesh will not be colored, though, so there’s no use in using it.
9- Change the font size.
10- Bold, Italicize, and Underline respectively. (Latin scripts only)
11- Left aligned, Center aligned, and Right align respectively.
12- Navigate the workspace. Use the bottom bar to move left and right and the side bar to move up and down.
Once you’re satisfied with your text, click out of the box.
Part Three: Exporting the File
This is where the 3D aspect comes in, and trust me, it’s cool.
First click “3D View” at the top of the screen. This will let you see what your text will look like.
Isn’t this cool? Click and hold the right mouse button to move your camera like you would in Roblox Studio. Use the scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in and out.
Now select Menu in the top right hand corner.
Select “Save as” and then select “3D model.”
A Save As pop-up will appear. Name your file, and then Save as a FBX file. Click the drop-down to choose the file type. When done, press “Save.”
Part Four: Getting the Text into the Studio
Now, exit Paint 3D. If it asks you to Save your Work, select “Don’t Save” as you’ve already saved your work.
Start Roblox Studio and open the place in which you’d like your 3D text to exist in. Open the Explorer and Properties in the “View” tab.
Insert a MeshPart. Simply right-click the Workspace, click Insert Object, and then either scroll until you find Mesh Part or use the search bar to find the object.
Click on MeshPart to insert it.
Now, notice “MeshId.” in “Properties.” Select the little folder icon to the right of MeshId.
Select your 3D text’s FBX file. Then press open in the bottom right corner.
If this pop-up appears, either choice will work. You can always move your mesh somewhere else after it’s been loaded in.
Part Five: Finishing Touches
If your mesh too small, like mine is, use the scale tool. This allows you to make your mesh bigger in any dimension. Remember to use shift while using the resize tool if you want to keep proportions.
Much better.
From here on out, your 3D text acts as any other mesh.
Make it thicker or thinner with the resize tool.
Like any other mesh, the possibilities are endless.
1- Change the text’s color.
2- Change the material.
3- Change the refelectance.
4- Change the transparency.
Finished Product:
Limitations:
Pros:
- Fast and quick.
- Works with most scripts in most languages.
- Lots of customization options like font size, custom font type, text alignment, etc.
Cons:
- No preinstalled fonts available for non-Latin scripts.
- Bold, Italic, and Underline not available for non-Latin scripts.
- Can’t edit mesh after it’s saved as a file.
Q & A
Q: Why can’t I use @XAXA’s ThreeDText 2 Plugin?
A: While the plugin is very quick and efficient, it only has 12 fonts to pick from. The plugin also only supports a limited number of characters; Languages with non-Latin scripts such as Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Arabic aren’t supported.
But, the plugin does make it significantly easier to edit words, though, and is very fast. It’s amazing. So, by all means, if you’re trying to create 3D text for a Latin-based script, and if you don’t mind a limited number of fonts, go ahead and install the plugin. I’d highly recommend it.
Q: Why can’t I use Blender?
A: You can, but I won’t be covering how. Think of this as a faster and easier alternative to using Blender.
Q: Why FBX?
A: Roblox Studio will only open FBX and OBJ files. Additionally, most people just tell you to.
Q: Why Windows only?
A: Because Paint 3D is only available on a Windows computer.
Q: What does 拉麺 mean?
A: Ramen.
Thanks for reading this all the way through. Hope this helped you.
TL;DR: Read the tutorial. It’s not that difficult.
