Turn a napkin sketch into a model

Ideas often begin on paper, a napkin, a whiteboard, or the back of an envelope. Solid Vibes meets you there. You photograph the sketch, add a sentence or two, and the agent turns it into clean, dimensioned geometry you can edit.

The sketch does not have to be good. It has to be clear.

1. Draw so it is easy to read

You do not need talent. A few habits make the biggest difference:

• Draw it big, filling most of the page.
• Use one thick, dark line (a marker or a dark pen) on plain paper.
• Show the important view, such as the side view of a stand or the top view of a tray. Two views (front and side) say far more than one.
• Write the numbers you know next to the lines, in millimetres. "80", "12 thick", "hole 5".
• Label unclear bits with words: "slot for pen", "round corner", "this side open".
• Draw hidden things as dashed lines if they matter.
• Avoid shading and perspective. They confuse the meaning of lines.

2. Photograph it well

• Shoot from directly above, with the paper flat.
• Use even light, avoiding shadows across the page.
• Fill the frame with the sketch.
• If you do not know the size and want the agent to scale from the page, put a coin or a ruler on the paper.

3. Drop it in and say what it is

Attach the image. Solid Vibes classifies it as a napkin sketch and shows its confidence. Then describe it in a sentence or two, and add anything that is not obvious from the lines:

This is a sketch of a cable organizer for my desk. The long rectangle is the base, 160 mm long. The four U shapes along the front are cable slots, each 8 mm wide. It should be open at the back. The numbers are in millimetres.

A sketch-to-model request costs 10 credits in Fast and 20 in Smart by default. Smart is better at reading messy lines.

4. Check what it understood

Before building, the agent can show the values it read from the sketch, each with a confidence, and flag unclear parts. Correct them now:

• Confirm the units and the overall size.
• Answer questions such as "Are the slots the same depth?"
• Add what a sketch cannot show, such as the thickness.

5. Review the ghost preview

Compare the preview with your sketch. Typical corrections:

The slots should be rounded at the bottom, not square. Make the base 8 mm thick, and add a 3 mm radius to the outer corners.

Use Tweak until it matches your intent, then Accept.

6. Name what matters

Turn important values into parameters, so you can fine-tune:

Make the slot width, the number of slots and the base length parameters. Let me add more slots without changing the slot size.

Now you can drag a slider to go from 4 slots to 6, and the base lengthens to suit.

7. Keep going

From here, the model behaves like any other:

• Refine with the agent or by hand.
• Run the manufacturability check.
• Add feet, a weighted base, or a lid.
• Try a Concept exploration if you want a different look.

When the sketch is very rough

If your sketch is a loose doodle:

1. Describe it in words as the main source, and attach the sketch as supporting evidence.
2. Start simple. Build the main body first, then add details in follow-up requests.
3. Alternatively, draw directly in Solid Vibes with the Sloppy sketch tool. Draw roughly with the mouse, and it snaps to clean geometry with automatic constraints.

Sketching tips by object

Try it

Draw a quick sketch of a pencil cup: a circle from above and a rectangle from the side with a number on each. Take a photo, attach it, and send:

This is a pencil cup. The circle is the top view, 80 mm diameter. The side view shows it 100 mm tall with a 3 mm wall and a 4 mm floor. Make it printable without supports.

Or open the Cable organizer template to practice the refinement steps.