Image to 3D with Hunyuan3D

Image to 3D models are crazy good right now. Hunyuan3D by far for quality. But garbage in = garbage out. Your multi-view inputs matter.

What Hunyuan3D Needs#

4-6 views of the same subject:

• Front (0°)
• Side (90°)
• Back (180°)
• Three-quarter (45°, 135°)
• Optional: top-down

Single image works but produces inconsistent results.

Getting Consistent Multi-Views#

Method 1: Turntable prompts. "3D render of [object], studio lighting, white background, front view" then regenerate with "side view," "back view." Works for simple objects.

Method 2: Zero123++ outputs grids with consistent views. My go-to.

Method 3: Generate hero view, image-to-image with strong denoising for other angles. Most control, most work.

My Pipeline#

• Generate base image in Nano Banana Pro, neutral pose
• Zero123++ for multi-view set
• Touch up inconsistent views
• Feed to Hunyuan3D

Input Requirements#

Good: Clean, well-lit, neutral backgrounds, consistent lighting, no blur

Bad: Complex backgrounds, dramatic shadows, occlusion, inconsistent lighting between views

Settings#

• Resolution: 512px often cleaner than 1024px with artifacts
• Detail: Start low, increase gradually
• Smoothing: 0.3-0.4 sweet spot

Post-Processing#

Blender for everything:

• Decimate if poly count too high
• Fix non-manifold geometry
• Retopologize for animation
• UV unwrap
• Bake textures from originals

Example#

Portrait to 3D bust:

• Front, 45°, 90° views via Zero123++
• Fixed malformed ear on side view
• Hunyuan3D at medium detail
• Blender cleanup: 5 minutes
• Result: 15k poly bust

Total: ~30 minutes. Traditional sculpting would take hours.

Limitations#

• Hair/fur: expect simplification
• Transparent/reflective: doesn't convert well
• Thin structures: often lost
• Asymmetric details: may not survive

Cost#

Hunyuan3D: $0.50/model Zero123++: $0.20/multi-view My time: 30 min average

Compare to $50-200 for a 3D artist.