How to make a simple 3D render of your board game box without any 3D programming knowledge (100% free and < 5 min)

A dead simple 3D render of your board game box. Use it for social media posts, your landing page, or for just hyping up your game.

It’s 100% free, doesn’t require any 3D modeling experience, and works right in your internet browser.

Here’s the link to the 3D render below so you can play around with it yourself.

What the 3D render looks like for my game, Welcome to Sysifus Corp.

Requirements:

• You must have the final design of the box ready.
• Some sort of image editing software (Photoshop, Illustrator, GIMP, etc.) and general knowledge of how to use it.
• Internet browser.
• Some sort of screen recording software.

Step 1 — Go to The Game Crafter website and create an account.

Step 2 — Click the “MAKE” button in the menu tab under the search bar and then click “Games” under “My Creations.”

Step 3 — Type in any name for your game and click the “+Create game” button. For the purposes of just creating a 3D render, it doesn’t matter what the name here is.

Step 4 — Press the “+Add Custom Component” button.

Step 5 — Click “Packaging” on the left-side menu.

Step 6 — Scroll down and look for “Large Stout Box” and click on the “+Add to Game” button.

Step 7 — On the right hand side, under “Templates” click on any of them to download a template file in your preferred editing software. Or just download the image PNG file.

Step 8 — Open the template and copy and paste your existing design into the new file. Export it as an PNG or JPG image that measures exactly 5925 x 5925 pixels. You may need to change your settings so that the DPI is 300 for high quality prints. Do this for both the top and bottom parts of the box.

Step 9 — Upload the top and bottom image files.

Step 10 — Press the “Proof All” button on the bottom.

Step 11 — Make sure there are no errors and press “Approve” for both images.

Step 12 — Once all the images are proofed, a new button will appear. Press the “View in 3D” button. It will open a new tab and the 3D render will load.

Step 13 — Click and drag around to move the box. Use your desired screen recording software to capture the 3D box.

Congratulations! Now you have a 3D render of your board game.

The prototype box for my game, “Love, Career & Magic”

Here’s the link to my 3D render just above.

There are many types of different boxes you can make 3D previews of using this method. Below are just some of the examples.

You can also copy + paste the link to the 3D render and share it with your fans / customers. It’ll load in any internet browser without having to sign in or up for any accounts. Just like sharing a funny meme or cat video.

1. Bridge hook box (simple deck of cards)
2. Bridge tuck box (simple deck of cards)
3. Deck box (Cards Against Humanity, long rectangle)
4. Large stout box (like Wingspan/Azul/Everdell, large square box)

Thanks for reading! Want more tips?

This article is part of a series of marketing tips that I wrote. If it helped you in any way, please let me know in the comments or by email at 1min@unicornwithwings.com! So many people have helped me on my journey and I’d love to pay it forward. No strings attached at all.