Using an opacity mask to fake an extrusion

[Peuf]

Hello all !

I am trying to avoid a painful 3d modeling operation, the idea is to have a pattern extruded on a simple plane with a small thickness (2 or 3mm).
So I've exported my pattern as an opacity mask and played with the bump but it always look thin on a simple plane (image1)
So instead of using a flat plane I did a rectangular extrusion and applied the pattern as an opacity mask again, the opacity mask work on the surface only, and the interior is hollow, I was wondering if there is any way to tell the opacity mask to go through the material instead of just staying on the surface.

I have no idea if this is possible could be a dumb question but I wanted to try...

Cheers !

[Will Gibbons]

What you're trying to accomplish needs to be done in your 3D application, not KeyShot. KeyShot doesn't support boolean operations or cutaway materials at this time.

Your best bet at 'faking' this in KS is to use the opacity map like you've done and create an accompanying map from the same graphic that has a slight inner shadow (using Photoshop or similar) and use that for the bump. It will give the impression of a raised surface, but you won't get any thickness. If using a solid, you'll see 2 surfaces with a hollow inside or on a plane, you'll just see the thin plane.

I'd try using Illustrator (or similar app) to do a live trace of your pattern. Then, you may be able to save/export to .dwg and open that in a CAD application and do an extrude/boolean operation with those lines. That can be tough though because in my experience, live trace creates lots of little line segments and in a CAD app, you'll need a continuous, closed line/curve to do the boolean. There are some tricks to get around this in Illustrator, but really, this is a tough one to accomplish.