Beginner course · ~30 minutes

Build a Hamburger in 3D

The fastest way to learn the 3D Product Studio is to make something. In this course you'll build this burger from scratch — and pick up every tool you need to design, animate and 3D-print your own products.

Start building → Open the 3D Studio

01 01 · STEP

Getting around the studio

Open the studio from the main app: click Studios (top-left, next to the logo) then 3D. You'll see a stage in the middle, a tool rail on the left, and panels on the right. Here's the top bar:

Products ready-made items Image upload art Logo→3D SVG to 3D Import 3D GLB/OBJ/STL Library built-in shapes Render PNG Spin Animate 3D file print & save ↶ ↷ undo / redo

Moving the camera

The camera is how you look around — it never changes your model.

Orbit — drag Zoom — scroll Pan — right-drag Frame all — press F

Selecting & moving objects

Click an object to select it. Coloured arrows (the gizmo) appear — drag them to move it. Switch the gizmo's job with the keys:

W Move E Rotate R Scale Ctrl/Cmd+D Duplicate Delete Remove

Experiment without fear Everything is undoable — Ctrl/Cmd+Z to undo, Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z to redo, or use the ↶ ↷ buttons. Turn on Snap to grid in the Arrange panel when you want tidy, exact placement.

02 02 · STEP · The project

Build the burger, layer by layer

A burger is just flat discs stacked up — perfect for learning. The trick of the whole course: make one layer, then duplicate it and change its size and colour for the next. Here's the recipe we'll follow:

Layer	Add with	Scale (X, Y, Z)	Colour
Bottom bun	Cyl	1.2 · 0.30 · 1.2	#DEB06B
Patty	Duplicate bun	1.25 · 0.18 · 1.25	#5C3A21
Cheese	Duplicate	1.30 · 0.06 · 1.30	#FFB733
Tomato	Duplicate	1.20 · 0.10 · 1.20	#E0392B
Lettuce	Duplicate	1.35 · 0.08 · 1.35	#7CB342
Top bun (dome)	Sphere	1.2 · 0.85 · 1.2	#DEB06B
Sesame ×5	Sphere	0.06 · 0.04 · 0.06	#F3E2B3

Step by step

Add the bottom bun. Click Cyl on the left rail. A cylinder drops in, already selected.
In the Transform panel set Scale to 1.2, 0.30, 1.2 — a wide, flat disc. Click Drop to floor so it sits on the grid.
Colour it. Open the Finish panel and click the Colour swatch, or type the hex #DEB06B. Leave the finish matte.
Tip: the quick-colour swatches give you one-tap colours; the picker lets you dial an exact shade.
Make the patty. With the bun selected, open Arrange → Duplicate (or Ctrl/Cmd+D). Drag the green up arrow so the copy sits just on top of the bun.
Set Scale to 1.25, 0.18, 1.25 and colour it #5C3A21. Hit Centre so it lines up over the bun.
Add the cheese. Duplicate again, move up. Make it thin — Scale 1.30, 0.06, 1.30 — and colour #FFB733.
For that classic melted-cheese overhang, set Rotation Y to 45 so the square corners poke past the edge.
Tomato & lettuce. Duplicate for each, move up, and use the sizes/colours from the table. Make the lettuce the widest layer so it ruffles out past the rest.
Turn on Snap to grid to keep the vertical spacing even as you stack.
Cap it with the top bun. Click Sphere. Scale it to 1.2, 0.85, 1.2 for a dome, colour it the bun colour, and lower it onto the stack so its flat-ish bottom meets the lettuce.
Sprinkle sesame (optional). Add a tiny Sphere, scale it to about 0.06, colour #F3E2B3, and place it on the dome. Duplicate it four or five times and scatter them.
Tidy up. Select each layer and use Centre so the whole burger lines up on one axis. Press F to frame it. Done — you built a burger!

The pattern to remember Duplicate → move up → resize → recolour. That single loop builds almost any stacked product: cakes, jars, stacked logos, packaging, awards.

03 03 · STEP

Make it look delicious

Now the fun part — lighting and finish are what turn "some shapes" into a product shot.

Finish & metals

With a layer selected, the Finish panel offers metals (Gold, Chrome, Copper…) and finishes (Glossy, Matte, Glass, Neon). The Metal, Rough and Opacity sliders fine-tune any look. For food, keep it matte; for a logo, try Gold + Glossy.

Colour just one piece

Imported or combined objects can have many parts. Double-click a piece in the view (or pick it in the Parts panel) and your colour/finish changes affect only that part. You can even rename a part with the ✎ button.

Light & atmosphere

Lighting — try Hero for metals Glow — bloom for bright metal/neon Mirror — reflective floor Background — pick a sweep or colour

Premium hero shot Hero lighting + a touch of Glow + the Mirror floor + a Studio background is the recipe behind the burger at the top of this page.

04 04 · STEP

Bring it to life

Click Animate to open the reveals. Pick a move, a size and a format, then Render.

Good reveals to try

Turntable — endless spin (loops) Spin-in — enters and settles Drop & bounce Float loop — gentle hero loop

Pick the right size

1:1 — feeds 9:16 — Reels / TikTok / Stories 16:9 — YouTube / web

Export as MP4 or WebM video, a GIF, or a transparent PNG sequence for video editors. Spin in the top bar is a one-click 360° turntable, and Render PNG grabs the current view as a still (transparent optional).

05 05 · STEP

3D-print your model

Click 3D file to open the print panel. This exports an STL or OBJ that any slicer (Cura, PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio) can open.

Set the size. Type the Longest side in millimetres. The panel shows the live X×Y×Z mm and warns if it's bigger than a typical 256 mm bed.
Check it's solid. Look for the watertight ✓. Leave Auto-fix on — it automatically thickens any thin or open parts so the print succeeds.
Add a printable base (optional). In Arrange → For 3D printing, drop a Base or Plinth under the burger for a stable flat bottom, or a Loop on top to make it a keychain.
Download. Hit Download. All your layers export together as one model, ready to slice and print.

Printing tip Very thin overhangs (like ruffled lettuce) may need supports in your slicer. Keep layers slightly overlapping so they fuse into one solid piece.

Need colours in another program (Blender, AR, Cinema 4D)? Use 3D file → Export with colours for a GLB (single file, keeps every colour) or an OBJ + MTL zip.

06 06 · STEP

The shortcut: import a ready-made model

Building from scratch teaches the tools — but sometimes you just want a model fast. You can drag a model file straight onto the stage, or use Import 3D.

Which file type?

GLB — best: one file, keeps colours OBJ + MTL — colours via a paired file .zip pack — OBJ + MTL + textures together STL — shape only, no colour

Prefer GLB when you can. If an OBJ looks invisible or grey, its colour file (MTL) probably didn't come along — re-export as GLB, or import the whole .zip so the colours travel with it.

Free models to import

Great CC0 (no-credit) sources: Poly Haven, Quaternius, Kenney, and Poly Pizza (credit the author). Download a GLB, drop it on the stage, then restyle and animate it just like your own build.

07 07 · STEP

Save, undo & reuse

Your work lives in the studio until you save it, so save as you go.

Save project — 3D file → Save project writes a .glb with every object, colour and position. Keep it to re-open and keep editing.

Open project — re-loads a saved .glb Undo / Redo — Ctrl/Cmd+Z Welcome tips — re-open from Help

Re-use the burger Save it once and you've got a reusable asset — drop it into product shots, recolour it for a menu, or animate fresh clips any time.

08 08 · STEP

Now build any product

Everything you just learned is the same recipe for real products. The general workflow:

Start from a shape or a product. Add primitives, pick a ready-made item from Products (bottle, can, box, mug, bag, phone, apparel), or turn a logo into 3D with Logo→3D.
Wrap your artwork. Select a product, then Use my design to pull your ShoutCreate artwork onto it, or upload an image. Place it with repeat / rotate / offset.
Style & light it. Finish, metals, lighting, glow and the mirror floor — your hero look.
Deliver. Render a still, a turntable or a social clip; export a print file; or Place in ShoutCreate to bring the render back into your 2D design.

Stacked items → duplicate & recolour Logos & awards → Logo→3D + Gold Packaging → Products + Use my design Keychains → build + Loop + print

Keep this handy

Cheat sheet

Shortcuts

Move / Rotate / Scale: W E R
Duplicate: Ctrl/Cmd+D
Undo / Redo: Cmd+Z / ⇧Z
Delete: Delete
Frame all: F
Orbit / Zoom / Pan: drag / scroll / right-drag

Burger palette

Bun: #DEB06B
Patty: #5C3A21
Cheese: #FFB733
Tomato: #E0392B
Lettuce: #7CB342
Sesame: #F3E2B3

Open the 3D Studio and build it →