Adobe has incorporated some easy 3D tools in the latest version of Illustrator and I am digging it. The Extrude tool is a feature I have seen in other 3D programs so it is not necessarily a genius innovation but it is genius that it is folded into the Illustrator platform.

I have been thinking a lot about 2D to 3D skills and I think there are going to be interesting bridging skills designers will need to lean into if they would like to learn 3D and be a part of the futurist mindset. And yes, I think going forward 3D modeling and texturing skills are going to be in high demand.

Illustrator is the bridge for modeling while Photoshop would be the bridge for surfacing and texturing. These skills translate well in the 3D space.

Below is a screen shot of the interface and it does look similar to a basic 3D program. Adobe was smart to allow the user to engage with the extrude tool and give control to the depth and rotation, lighting and texturing etc.

To start using this tool first update to the latest version of Illustrator (as of March 2022) Open Adobe Illustrator > Effect > 3D & Materials > Extrude. It’s so fun!!!!!

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