Translating 2D Hand-Drawn Industrial-Themed Artwork into 3D Scene in Blender

Kay Hilman presented Factory & Bricks, a personal project that translates a hand-drawn industrial landscape into a Blender 3D scene. Its workflow combines non-destructive Geometry Nodes with Grease Pe

Turning Original Artwork into a Procedural 3D Scene

Kay Hilman’s personal project Factory & Bricks transforms a hand-drawn industrial landscape into a 3D environment inside Blender. The goal is not to realistically replicate the buildings. Instead, it first locks in the perspective visible from the camera, the balance of lighting, linework, and color, and preserves the impression of a 2D illustration in 3D space.

Keeping Forms Editable with Geometry Nodes

At the foundation of the work are nondestructive Geometry Nodes primitives. Treating repeating bricks and structures as editable procedural elements makes it possible to adjust the scene without rebuilding individual meshes when the composition or proportions need to change. Instead, this approach requires designing rules and parameters first, rather than modeling every surface independently.

Line Thickness and Surface Character

The second stage focuses on screen-space line thickness and the hand-drawn surface details of Grease Pencil. It controls the problem of lines becoming excessively thin depending on camera distance or perspective in a 3D scene, while drawings on the surface soften the mechanical results of modeling. As a result, consistency in the lines and colors as they read on screen takes priority over the physical realism of the materials.

Connecting with Blender 5.2 Features

This workflow makes use of Blender 5.2’s Geometry Nodes and Grease Pencil features. Blender 5.2 is a long-term support version that expands 2D–3D hybrid workflows, including Grease Pencil’s new fill algorithm and line material settings. Factory & Bricks is an example of applying those features to achieve both adjustability in a finished environment image and a hand-drawn feel.

Source: 80 Level’s introduction to Factory & Bricks, Blender 5.2 LTS official release