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Kinetiq Blockout™

Drop a single photo of an object and Kinetiq Blockout builds you a clean, editable 3D mesh — export it to .glb or .fbx and open it straight in Blender, Unity, Maya and the rest.

Tier: 3 free generations a calendar month · Starter raises the cap · the built-in samples, the Optimize card and every export are always free Where: Edit ▸ Image to 3D ✨, or the violet Boxes button in the editor's top bar

What "blockout" means

A blockout is a faithful base assembled from simple primitives — boxes, cylinders, and the like — that reads clearly as the object and is easy to refine. It is not a photoreal scan. Think "a solid starting mesh you finish," not "a perfect copy." Naming the tool this way is deliberate: it's honest about exactly what you get.

What it does​

One photo → one editable mesh, in a few seconds. Blockout looks at a picture of a hard-surface prop — a mug, a crate, a tool, a gadget, a piece of furniture — and reconstructs it as a clean, primitive-built 3D object right in the viewport, sitting next to your avatar. From there it's an ordinary mesh: optimize it, then export it to any DCC or game engine.

It shines on the things that read as simple shapes and stumbles on the things that don't — and it tells you which is which instead of faking a result. See Honest scope and fidelity below.

Blockout vs Convert — Blockout creates a new mesh from a photo. The free Convert tool translates a 3D file you already have between formats (FBX ↔ GLB, etc.). Different inputs, different jobs.

The workflow​

Open it from Edit ▸ Image to 3D ✨ or the violet Boxes pill in the top bar. The window is draggable and see-through, so the viewport stays visible while you work.

1 — Drop a photo​

Drag in (or browse to) a single photo — JPEG, PNG or WebP. Best results come from a well-lit shot of one object, roughly filling the frame, against a plain background. Prefer a three-quarter angle over a dead-on face so more of the shape is visible.

Not ready with a photo? Load a built-in Crate or Barrel sample to explore the tool for free — no image needed.

2 — Generate​

Hit Generate and Amanda's vision reads the photo and builds the model. In a few seconds a clean blockout appears in the viewport. If the result is approximate or low-confidence, Blockout says so plainly — an honest note beats a confident wrong answer.

3 — Optimize (live)​

Open the Optimize card to trim the mesh to exactly the budget you want:

  • Detail — Low / Med / High rebuilds the object at coarser or finer silhouettes.
  • Reduce — a slider that decimates the mesh live, preserving UVs and normals.

A live readout shows the exact vertex / triangle / MB count before and after — the same numbers you'll see in the editor's STATS panel and in Blender when you open the file. What you see is what you export.

4 — Export​

Export the result as .glb or .fbx — a normal browser download that lands in your Downloads folder and opens straight in Blender, Unity, Maya and other tools. Materials and UVs come along.

What you get​

  • A clean, editable 3D mesh built from primitives — a solid base you can refine in any DCC, not a throwaway.
  • .glb and .fbx export with materials and UVs, ready for Blender, Unity, Unreal, Maya and the web.
  • A live Optimize card — Detail + Reduce — with an exact, honest vert/tri/MB readout that matches the file you download.
  • Honesty built in — the result flags itself when it's approximate, and unsupported images get a clear "fidelity unavailable" instead of a bad guess.

Honest scope and fidelity​

Blockout is tuned for a specific, useful job and it's upfront about the rest.

Great for: single, well-lit hard-surface props — mugs, crates, boxes, tools, gadgets, simple furniture. Things that read as combinations of basic shapes.

Out of scope (for now): people, animals, faces, and soft or organic shapes. When an image is out of scope, Blockout returns a plain "fidelity unavailable for this image" — that's a normal, expected result, not a bug. Better an honest pass than a melted guess.

Why a photo can't be perfect: one picture can't reveal the hidden sides of an object, so unseen faces are inferred by mirroring, and proportions are a close approximation. Treat the result as a base to refine — nudge it with Detail / Reduce, or finish it in your DCC.

Set expectations, not disappointment

The name says it all: a blockout is where 3D artists start, not where they finish. Blockout gets you from a photo to a clean, editable base in seconds — the polish is yours.

Privacy​

Most of Kinetiq runs entirely on your machine. Image to 3D is the one exception, and we want to be clear about it:

  • To read your picture, the photo is sent to Thirdrez's servers for Amanda's vision analysis. It is downscaled first, used only to build your model, and is not stored.
  • Everything else — building the mesh, the Optimize card, and every export — runs in your browser. The .glb / .fbx is generated locally and downloaded directly; there is no cloud copy of your model.

We'd rather tell you exactly where the line is than imply the whole thing is on-device when it isn't.

Plans & limits​

  • Every plan includes 3 free generations per calendar month — enough to try it on real props.
  • The 4th generation in a month needs Starter (or above), which raises the monthly cap. This covers the cost of the vision analysis behind each generation.
  • The built-in Crate / Barrel samples, the Optimize card, and export are free on every plan — the monthly limit only counts photo generations.
  • A generation that can't be delivered (an out-of-scope image, a hiccup) never costs you a credit.

Tips for the best blockout​

  • One object, filling the frame. A single prop against a plain, contrasting background reads cleanest.
  • Light it evenly. Flat, even light beats harsh shadows or blown-out highlights.
  • Favor a three-quarter angle. A dead-on shot hides the depth; a slight turn shows the tool more of the shape.
  • Pick hard-surface subjects. Boxes, mugs, tools and gadgets are the sweet spot; skip people, pets and plush things.
  • Treat it as a base. Generate, then finish — Detail / Reduce in-editor, or a pass in your DCC.

FAQ & edge cases​

Is my photo uploaded?​

Yes — this is the one Kinetiq feature that sends data off your machine. Your (downscaled) photo goes to Thirdrez's servers for Amanda's vision analysis, is used only to build your model, and is not stored. Building the mesh, optimizing and exporting all happen in your browser. See Privacy.

It said "fidelity unavailable for this image."​

That's the honest bail. The photo is out of Blockout's scope — usually a person, animal, face, or a soft/organic shape — so it declined instead of guessing. Try a single hard-surface prop. It doesn't cost you a credit.

The proportions or the hidden side aren't quite right.​

A single photo can't see the back of an object, so unseen faces are mirrored and proportions are approximate. Adjust with Detail / Reduce, or refine the exported mesh in your DCC — a blockout is a starting point.

What files can I export, and where do they open?​

.glb and .fbx, with materials and UVs. Both open in Blender, Unity, Unreal, Maya and standard 3D tools. Export is always free.

Does it produce a rigged character?​

No — Blockout makes static props, not characters. If you need to animate a humanoid mesh, that's Auto-Rig.

Can I use it without a photo?​

Yes — load the Crate or Barrel sample to explore Generate-free, then Optimize and Export. Samples are free.

  • Exports — GLB, FBX, BVH and Second Life .anim from the editor
  • Convert — the free tool for translating 3D files between formats
  • Auto-Rig — rig a humanoid mesh so it can be animated
  • Editor Guide — the full Kinetiq Editor walkthrough
  • Amanda Co-Pilot — ask Amanda to open any tool for you