Picture of Creating your 2D Dieline or Template for MegaEdit 3D | ME_3D_004

Creating your 2D Dieline or Template for MegaEdit 3D | ME_3D_004

The key to using MegaEdit 3D effectively is having both 2D and 3D templates. The 2D template, often a product die line, forms the main content of the MegaEdit canvas, guiding where users can add personalization. This template ensures elements like images and text are correctly placed on the canvas, aligning with the 3D setup in Blender. It's crucial for both the final output and the 3D preview. While most products will use die lines, some, like apparel, may use simpler templates for specific areas. Blender allows for assigning different images to various parts of the 3D model, ensuring flexibility in application.

Tutorial Video Transcript

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Okay.

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So as I've mentioned, the key to this
is having both our 2D and 3D templates.

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Now, your 2D template,

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as we've seen
on many of our example products.

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And this is my very,
very basic example here,

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which usually I say be a product die line.

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And this would form the main content
of your MegaEdit canvas,

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onto which your end users
can add their own personalization.

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Now, this 2D template allows us to ensure
that elements such as imagery and text

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are added to the correct place

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on the canvas relative to what we've

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what we're going to set up inside
blender itself.

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and this is true for both the final output
file and for the 3D preview.

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So we want to make sure
that the ultimate aim of

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this is to still make sure we get it,
whether

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we end up with a relevant output file
that we can send to our printer.

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It's not all about 3D preview,

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so this is just for

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making it look pretty.

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Now, as we'll see,

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the 2D template is also used

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within blender and is key to identifying
certain areas of the die line

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to which slices on our 3D
model are going to be linked to.

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So we've got this.

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If we've got this, template here,

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we're going to have certain areas of it
like here or here maybe where we've mapped

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certain elements in our 3D model
to that particular

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2D model.

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Now what we need to remember as well
is that sometimes,

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sometimes
our products might not lend themselves.

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Exactly to a die line.

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So that, hoodie we had, for
example, is a fantastic example.

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You can't really you're not going
to really utilize a diagram for that.

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So what you might have is and again
this is a very basic

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example, is something like this
template here where it just gives

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you areas to input specific things
onto your, onto your canvas.

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Now what we've got here, for example,
is just the ability to select

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a couple of different colors.

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We've got an area
where we can input the image.

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And then in theory, what that would do is
we can then click preview

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and it would put those
in the correct places on our 3D model.

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But again it's very model specific.

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And this is a great example
for having something

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hidden in the background like we had
with our hoodie where you don't actually

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see the 2D canvas, you just
it is still there, it is still operating,

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but you're bypassing
it as part of the product setup.

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So I kind of touched on this before,
but please do note that

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you don't explicitly have to have
just one die line or template.

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So blender will let you assign
different images to different areas

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on your 3D model.

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because this might be more applicable

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to your particular application.

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However

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or however you choose to create your die
lines or your templates, ensure

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that you export them
with the relevant textures or coloring.

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And again, we'll see this a bit later on.

 

Incomplete
Guide

The key to MegaEdit 3D is having both a 2D and 3D template.

Your 2D template would usually be your product's dieline. This would form the main content of your MegaEdit canvas, onto which your end users can add their own personalisation. This 2D template allows us to ensure that elements such as imagery and text are added to the correct place, both for the final output file and for the conversion into a 3D preview.

The 2D template is also used within Blender and is key to identifying certain areas of your dieline to which faces on the 3D model should be linked.

Sometimes a product may not lend itself to a dieline, such as items of clothing. In these cases, you can utilise a more generic template, which is essentially providing you with areas to input your various variable elements on your product.

The example below shows a very simple template for this same box product, should we not be using a dieline.

Please note: You do not explicitly need to have just one dieline or template. Blender will let you assign different images to different areas of your 3D model, should this be more applicable to your application.

However you choose to create your dieline or template, ensure you export them with the relevant textures or colouring.

When we use a template image within Blender, the "texture" of the 3D model will use this provided image. So with my cardboard box for example, I'm providing Blender with the image with the non-printed elements coloured with the stock colour.

In comparison, your final output file from Infigo should not contain the stock colour. You should have another version of a template(s) which consider this.

 

It is important to note that there are many ways of setting up your 3D preview enabled MegaEdit model, which will largely depend on the requirements of your specific product. Our cardboard box example is just a simplified example of one way of accomplishing this.