Tripo (Tripo AI) is an AI tool developed by VAST that creates 3D models from text or images. Upload an image to Tripo Studio in your browser and generate, and you get a textured 3D model that you can export in six formats: GLB, USD, FBX, OBJ, STL, and 3MF.
This guide walks through what Tripo can do and how to use it, based on its official website and help center (checked on September 28, 2026). It also covers what tends to happen when you upload your own illustration, which terms to read before you do, and how to tell whether a different route suits you better if 3D settings are new to you.
Note: Figmee currently offers figurine-style images created from your drawings, 3D model data (GLB / 3MF), and turntable videos of your 3D models. Ordering physical 3D prints is Coming Soon.
What Tripo can do
The table below summarizes the main features described on Tripo's Image to 3D page and in the help center article "What features does Tripo have?"
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Ways to create | Text to 3D, a single image to 3D, and multi-view images (2–4) to 3D |
| Accepted images | JPG, PNG, and WEBP: photos, digital illustrations, sketches, and AI-generated concept art |
| Generation modes | "High Detail Model," which focuses on fine detail, and "Smart Mesh," which produces clean meshes with fewer faces |
| Refinement after generation | Texture generation, part segmentation, retopology, and automatic rigging and animation for humanoids and creatures |
| Export formats | GLB, USD, FBX, OBJ, STL, and 3MF |
| Where to use it | In the browser (Tripo Studio, nothing to install), through an API for developers, and via plugins for Blender, Unity, Unreal Engine, and more |
As of September 2026, the official site presents "Tripo H3.1" (announced in March 2026) as its latest High Detail Model and "Tripo P2.0" (announced in August 2026) as the newer version of Smart Mesh. H3.1 builds detailed shapes of up to 2 million polygons, while P2.0 lets you set the face count for game and animation assets.
Tripo also includes image generation designed for 3D creation, so you can make the image you want to convert inside Tripo as well. The official site and help center are available in multiple languages.
How to use Tripo: image to 3D, step by step
This is the flow described in the help center article "How to use Tripo?" and in Tripo's P2.0 announcement. On-screen labels may change with updates.
- Open Tripo Studio and sign up or log in: open Tripo Studio in your browser. There's nothing to install.
- Choose the mode and the generation type: in the 3D Workspace, choose "Image-to-3D." Pick High Detail Model if fine detail matters most, or Smart Mesh if you want fewer faces.
- Upload your image and generate: upload one image, or up to four images showing the front, left, right, and back, then click "Generate." According to the help center, generation takes about 10 seconds to 2 minutes depending on complexity.
- Refine if needed: use Segment (split into parts), Retopo (retopology), Texture, and Animate (rigging and animation). Each step is optional, and you can export at any stage.
- Check the model and export it: rotate the preview to check the shape, then download it in the format that fits your use. The help center lists GLB for the web and AR/VR, FBX for games and 3D animation software, and STL or 3MF for 3D printing.
You'll run into a few 3D terms along the way. Here are the ones that tend to trip people up.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Texture | The image of colors and patterns wrapped around the surface of a 3D model |
| PBR | A way of storing color, surface bumps, metalness, and roughness separately so the material reacts naturally to light |
| Polygon count | The number of faces that make up the shape. More faces mean finer detail and heavier files |
| Retopology | Rebuilding the arrangement of faces (the mesh) so the model is easier to edit or animate |
| Segmentation | Splitting a model into parts such as the head, body, and accessories |
| Rigging | Adding a skeleton so the 3D model can be animated |
Tripo's official FAQ says the best geometry comes from an image with a clean background and a single, clearly lit subject. Cluttered backgrounds, multiple subjects, heavy blur, or extreme perspective reduce accuracy, and cropping out just the subject before uploading usually fixes it.
What tends to happen when you upload an illustration
Tripo accepts photos, illustrations, and sketches alike, but hand-drawn illustrations come with challenges that photos don't. The points below aren't specific to Tripo; they apply to many AI tools that create 3D from images.
Undrawn sides and backs are filled in by estimation
When working from a single image, the AI estimates depth and volume to build the shape. Tripo's official FAQ explains that with a single view it estimates depth, volume, and surface orientation, while with multiple views it reconstructs the actual geometry. The back of the head or the back of a character you drew only from the front may come out differently from what you intended.
If the back of your character's design matters, you can draw one more view from behind and try with the front and back images. According to the official FAQ, you don't need all four views — even front plus back improves the geometry significantly. Keeping the head height and body width consistent between the two drawings should make them easier to treat as the same character. Note that the official FAQ lists multi-view input as a paid-plan feature (as of September 2026).
Flat coloring gives few 3D cues
Drawings with flat fills and minimal shading, such as anime-style cel shading, carry far fewer shading cues about surface bumps than photos, which makes it harder for AI to read depth. The paper "Art3D," published in April 2025, also points out that most existing image-to-3D methods struggle to produce plausible 3D assets from flat-colored images like hand drawings, because those images lack the illusion of depth (source: Art3D: Training-Free 3D Generation from Flat-Colored Illustration).
Thin lines and slim parts tend to thicken or disappear
Thin, protruding parts such as hair tips, accessory chains, and slender weapons may break off partway or merge with nearby parts once they become 3D. The line art of your illustration may survive as color painted on the surface rather than as edges of the shape, so the lines can look broken when you view the model from another angle.
What to prepare before uploading
- Remove the background and crop out a single character
- Use a full-body drawing that faces the front or close to it
- Avoid poses where arms or hair overlap the body heavily
- If the back of the design matters, prepare a back view too
Which drawings convert well, and which ones AI still struggles with, are covered in our guide to turning an illustration into 3D.
Who Tripo suits, and who may want another route
Tripo's strength is that you choose the generation mode, the face count, and the refinement tools yourself. That makes it fairly clear which uses it fits best.
Tripo suits you if you want to
- Create assets for games, apps, or video and export them as FBX, USD, or other formats
- Go all the way to rigging and animation in the same tool
- Choose the polygon count and mesh type to match your use
- Build the shape from multiple views when you already have front, side, and back references
- Export STL or 3MF files for 3D printing
You may want another route if you want to
- See your character in 3D first, without choosing generation modes or polygon counts
- Keep an unannounced character design private while staying on a free plan (see "Rights and terms to check before you upload" below for how free use is handled)
Another route for illustrations: go through a figurine-style image
If you'd rather see your character in 3D before dealing with 3D settings, you can use a service built specifically around turning illustrations into 3D. Figmee works in two stages: it first converts your drawing into a "figurine-style image," a single picture that shows your character as if it had been sculpted and photographed, and you create the 3D model only once you're happy with that image. The only thing you choose along the way is the image quality (Standard, Pro, or Max). You never have to pick a polygon count or a mesh type.
- Prepare your illustration: use a photo or scan of a drawing on paper, or a digital illustration. Supported formats are PNG, JPEG, and WebP, up to 20 MB per image. Photos of real people, animals, objects, or scenery are not supported.
- Upload, choose a quality, and generate: choose Standard, Pro, or Max and press "Generate 3D Image" to create a figurine-style image. It usually takes about 2–3 minutes.
- Check the result: make sure the feel of your lines, your colors, and your character's features came through. If it doesn't match what you had in mind, regenerate or try another drawing.
- Generate the 3D model: once you're happy with the image, press "Generate 3D Model." It takes a few minutes, and you can rotate the finished model 360° in your browser.
- Save and share: on the artwork page, press "Save" and choose "3D model (GLB)" or "3D print file (3MF)." With "Create 360° video," you can also export a square video in which the model makes two full turns in about 6 seconds.
On pricing: new accounts receive 5 free tokens as a sign-up bonus (valid for 3 months after registration, only for the first registration with a given email address). A figurine-style image costs 1–3 tokens depending on the quality, and a 3D model costs 5 tokens — your first 3D model is free, once per account. You can buy 5 more tokens for $5.99. Saving data and exporting turntable videos don't use tokens.
Here's how the two compare, based on each one's official information.
| Tripo | Figmee | |
|---|---|---|
| What you can upload | Text, images (photos, illustrations, sketches), and multi-view images | Drawn illustrations (photos not supported) |
| Path to 3D | Generates a 3D model from the image (image generation for 3D creation is also available) | Two stages: illustration → figurine-style image → 3D model |
| Settings you choose | Generation mode, polygon count, textures, segmentation, and more | Image quality (Standard, Pro, Max) |
| Export formats | GLB, USD, FBX, OBJ, STL, 3MF | GLB, 3MF |
| Rigging and animation | Automatic rigging for humanoids and creatures | Not supported |
A Figmee 3D model is data for shape and color only; it doesn't support rigging (adding a skeleton for animation) or VRM. If you want to animate your character in a game or export FBX, a tool with more formats and refinement options, such as Tripo, is the better fit. If you want to see your drawn character in 3D or share it as a turntable video on social media, Figmee covers that.
For the two-stage approach in more depth, see our guide to going beyond the image to a 3D model, and for points specific to original characters, see how to turn your original character into 3D.
Rights and terms to check before you upload
Section 5.2 of Tripo's Terms of User Agreement (last updated July 11, 2025) handles inputs (such as uploaded images) and outputs differently for free users and paid users.
| How you use Tripo | How inputs and outputs are handled |
|---|---|
| Free use | Tripo retains all rights to the inputs and outputs, including the rights to use, copy, modify, publish, distribute, and license them, as well as the intellectual property rights arising from them (5.2.1). Tripo's official FAQ says free-plan models are public and licensed under CC BY 4.0 |
| Paid plans | Subject to conditions such as authorizing Tripo to use and display the content as needed to provide the service, paid users generally have all rights to their inputs and outputs, and Tripo does not use inputs or outputs as AI training data (5.2.2). The official FAQ says these models are private and authorized for commercial use |
In either case, you may not use outputs to build products or services that directly compete with VAST's, and you are responsible for the copyright status of the material you upload. If you plan to upload an unannounced character design or a commissioned illustration, or anything else you don't expect to be published or reused, read the terms in full before deciding whether to use Tripo for free or on a paid plan.
For reference, Figmee uses uploaded images only to create 3D images and 3D models, and does not use them to train AI. It doesn't make them public to third parties unless you publish a work yourself (details: Images you can upload and image rights).
Whatever service you use, only upload drawings you made yourself or images the rights holder has allowed you to use. Turning licensed characters or other people's illustrations into 3D and then publishing or selling them may infringe their rights. Your own original characters, whose rights you hold, are the safe choice. For more on this, see our guide to copyright and commercial use of 3D goods based on original characters.
FAQ
Is Tripo free to use?
According to the official site, there's a free plan that lets you try generating 3D models from text and images. Limits such as the number of generations can change, so check the official pricing page. The official FAQ says models made for free are public and licensed under CC BY 4.0, so read the terms before uploading any drawing you don't want made public.
Is Tripo available in other languages?
Yes. The official site and help center are also available in languages including Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French, and German. Button and feature names such as "Generate," "Segment," and "Retopo" stay in English even in the translated help articles.
Can I 3D print a model made with Tripo?
The official FAQ says that exporting to STL or 3MF gets the model ready for printing, and it recommends checking the file in your slicer before you print, especially if it has very thin shapes or unusual overhangs. Ordering physical 3D prints from Figmee is Coming Soon and isn't available yet. The 3MF data you can save from Figmee is meant for your own 3D printer or a print service that accepts 3MF files.
Can I turn a rough sketch or line art into 3D?
Tripo accepts sketches as input for image to 3D. Line art with little coloring gives few 3D cues, though, so the shape may come out thin or the back may differ from what you intended. Figmee also accepts photos of drawings on paper. For drawings made only with faint pencil lines, darkening the lines before uploading tends to give more stable results.
Can I add a skeleton to my character and animate it?
Tripo offers automatic rigging, which adds a skeleton to humanoid and creature models, along with animation features. Figmee's 3D models don't support rigging, so for animation you'll need a tool like Tripo or 3D software. To learn what's inside a GLB file and how to open one, see What Is a GLB File?, and for taking a model into Blender or a game engine, see how to edit AI-generated 3D models.
Summary
Tripo is an AI tool that creates 3D models from text or images, takes them through segmentation, retopology, and rigging, and exports them in six formats. If you make assets for games or animation, or want to choose formats and face counts yourself, its range of features pays off.
When you upload your own character art, keep in mind that undrawn backs are estimated and that flat coloring and thin lines are easy to lose. A single character with the background removed, or a front-and-back pair, gives results that are easier to judge. Check how outputs are handled under free use before you upload, too.
If you'd like to see your character in 3D without choosing 3D settings, going through a figurine-style image with a service like Figmee is another option. To compare other tools, see our comparison of image-to-3D AI tools.
Sources (checked on September 28, 2026)
- Tripo official site: Image to 3D Model (features and FAQ)
- Tripo Help Center: What is Tripo?, What features does Tripo have?, How to use Tripo?, What 3D file formats do you support?
- Tripo Terms of User Agreement (last updated July 11, 2025)
- Tripo official blog: Introducing Tripo H3.1 (March 6, 2026), Tripo P2.0 Official (August 19, 2026)
- Art3D: Training-Free 3D Generation from Flat-Colored Illustration (arXiv, April 14, 2025)
