I've seen a few websites offer this service. Taking your 2D photos and tuning them to 3D models to be engraved in crystal.
www.sub-laser.co.uk/shop/photo-gift/3D-Photo-Couple-Block-Large
More info:
www.sub-laser.co.uk/shop/support/index.php

Does anyone have any idea how they might be doing this? I find it hard to believe that they are individually modelling each and every photo they recieve. I work in the crystal imaging business and I've never seen any software that will turn 2D to 3D easily enough to be a viable and profitable service. I suspect they have some bit of software I'm not familiar with.

Anyone got any ideas as to what it might be?

 It looks like they use the photo as a height map. The lighter the pixel, the more to the front it is positioned. Portraits will have to be lighted equally, to prevent strange deforming (for instance when the face is partly in the shadow).

Lots of 3D software can generate an object with help of a height map / bump map and export an obj or 3ds file.

I think the secret is in the selection of the photo's. And no refund policy ('the result is as good as your photo').

Thanks for your reply!

In the past I've tried to use Bryce to make a height-map 3D face from a 2D photo but its never been nearly smooth enough to be useable.
I've done some research on 3D programs but can't seem to find one that would do this. Iv'e found plenty of terrgen-type programs that use heigth maps to make 3D terrain but not one that seems like it would make a decent-looking face.
I don't want to be a pain but can you reccomend one (if you know of any) or point me to a tutorial?

I do not have relevant experience in this field, but a Google Search for '2d to 3d photo' brings up some good looking links like this: http://www.download32.com/t3d---2d-to-3d-converter-d19457.html

I think some adequate blurring might be needed to get good base material for  a height map.

But for now my Googling is as good as yours. Good luck!

A lot of software that does this kind of thing uses two images, taken at slightly different angles.

Since they're only using one picture, I'd guess that they're making a shadow map, too. The technique there would be to find the edges, identify pixels on either side of edge lines that are similar in hue but where they're much darker on one side. This would distinguish shadows from, say, highlights in the hair. approximating the slope of the edge curves at different points and measuring the length of each shadow along a perpendicular to the slope would give some idea of where the light was coming from. I'd be willing to bet that pictures taken in bright sunlight work much better than pictures taken with flat, indoor lighting.

Once you know where the shadows are, you could assume that areas in darker shadow and areas where the shadow is wider recede further back. That would give you a fair approximation of the depth intended in the image.

They might pre-process the image, too. For example, they might have an artist remove the background in Photoshop and adjust the contrast by eye to improve the chances of making a good map, before they run it through their software to convert it.
 

Cheers, Hoofd!

You're right, Captain Jack, there is a bit or pre-processing to be done in Photoshop. The figure is usually isolated and placed on a black background then the brightness/contrast is altered to highlight the details.

After that though, you've lost me. I think it might be out of my league....
I've tried to use a heigth/displacement map in 3DSMax but all I get it a raised-but-flat moutain. Like a plateau! Not exactly the desired effect.

Thanks for your help, lads.

That site is pretty misleading.  They have a video that purports to demonstrate the process they use, but it's plainly not what they're selling - in the demonstration they have a guy sitting in a studio being laser digitized, they're not working from a photo.  I expect the real process being used is something more like this:
http://lenticularblog.rrd.com/?Tag=Depth+Map

You're right pjz99. We use a 3D digitzer and the process of making a 3D image that way is easy enough.

Thanks for that link, it makes the 2D to 3D a bit clearer. I'm going to try using 3DSmax again unless anyone can suggest a program better suited to this task?

The software used in China to convert 2d images to 3d for crystal engraving is called ShapeMg Official site With the help of it user manual from the link and all its 20 silent tutorials on YouTube you easily get familiar with it. It can also the 3d images to point cloud with is used by the laser printer to create images in the crystal.

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d3crypt3d, while the announcement of your 3d encryption software is relevant to the forum, it has little or no relevance to this thread. I will not delete your post, but please consider posting announcements like this either on its own thread, or within one with significant relevance. Much appreciated.