# An Object is Worth 64x64 Pixels: Generating 3D Object via Image Diffusion

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.03178 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.03178/

## Key facts

- Cited by 34 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 54 of its 78 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 6 Aug 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 54)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [High-Resolution Image Synthesis with Latent Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.10752/) (2021)
- [Scalable Diffusion Models with Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.09748/) (2022)
- [PointNet++: Deep Hierarchical Feature Learning on Point Sets in a Metric Space](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.02413/) (2017)
- [DeepSDF: Learning Continuous Signed Distance Functions for Shape Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.05103/) (2019)
- [Occupancy Networks: Learning 3D Reconstruction in Function Space](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.03828/) (2018)
- [NeuS: Learning Neural Implicit Surfaces by Volume Rendering for Multi-view Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.10689/) (2021)
- [Learning Implicit Fields for Generative Shape Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.02822/) (2018)
- [Point-E: A System for Generating 3D Point Clouds from Complex Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.08751/) (2022)
- [Wonder3D: Single Image to 3D using Cross-Domain Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.15008/) (2023)
- [SyncDreamer: Generating Multiview-consistent Images from a Single-view Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.03453/) (2023)
- [Learning a Probabilistic Latent Space of Object Shapes via 3D Generative-Adversarial Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.07584/) (2016)
- [LION: Latent Point Diffusion Models for 3D Shape Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.06978/) (2022)
- [AtlasNet: A Papier-Mach'e Approach to Learning 3D Surface Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.05384/) (2018)
- [3DShape2VecSet: A 3D Shape Representation for Neural Fields and Generative Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.11445/) (2023)
- [CLAY: A Controllable Large-scale Generative Model for Creating High-quality 3D Assets](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.13897/) (2024)
- [GET3D: A Generative Model of High Quality 3D Textured Shapes Learned from Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.11163/) (2022)
- [InstantMesh: Efficient 3D Mesh Generation from a Single Image with Sparse-view Large Reconstruction Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.07191/) (2024)
- [ABO: Dataset and Benchmarks for Real-World 3D Object Understanding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.06199/) (2021)
- [SDFusion: Multimodal 3D Shape Completion, Reconstruction, and Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.04493/) (2022)
- [PolyGen: An Autoregressive Generative Model of 3D Meshes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.10880/) (2020)
- [MeshGPT: Generating Triangle Meshes with Decoder-Only Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.15475/) (2023)
- [MVDiffusion: Enabling Holistic Multi-view Image Generation with Correspondence-Aware Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.01097/) (2023)
- [AutoSDF: Shape Priors for 3D Completion, Reconstruction and Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.09516/) (2022)
- [BSP-Net: Generating Compact Meshes via Binary Space Partitioning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.06971/) (2019)
- [DiffusionNet: Discretization Agnostic Learning on Surfaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.00888/) (2020)
- [MeshAnything: Artist-Created Mesh Generation with Autoregressive Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.10163/) (2024)
- [Diffusion-SDF: Conditional Generative Modeling of Signed Distance Functions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.13757/) (2022)
- [Locally Attentional SDF Diffusion for Controllable 3D Shape Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.04461/) (2023)
- [Paint3D: Paint Anything 3D with Lighting-Less Texture Diffusion Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.13913/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 34)

- [3DTopia-XL: Scaling High-quality 3D Asset Generation via Primitive Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.12957/) (2024)
- [Meshtron: High-Fidelity, Artist-Like 3D Mesh Generation at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.09548/) (2024)
- [EdgeRunner: Auto-regressive Auto-encoder for Artistic Mesh Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.18114/) (2024)
- [Efficient Part-level 3D Object Generation via Dual Volume Packing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.09980/) (2025)
- [LL3M: Large Language 3D Modelers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.08228/) (2025)
- [NuiScene: Exploring Efficient Generation of Unbounded Outdoor Scenes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.16375/) (2025)
- [Geometry Image Diffusion: Fast and Data-Efficient Text-to-3D with Image-Based Surface Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.03718/) (2024)
- [Wavelet Latent Diffusion (Wala): Billion-Parameter 3D Generative Model with Compact Wavelet Encodings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.08017/) (2024)
- [Zero-1-to-G: Taming Pretrained 2D Diffusion Model for Direct 3D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.05427/) (2025)
- [UVGS: Reimagining Unstructured 3D Gaussian Splatting using UV Mapping](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.01846/) (2025)
- [Disentangled Clothed Avatar Generation with Layered Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.04631/) (2025)
- [Repurposing 2D Diffusion Models with Gaussian Atlas for 3D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.15877/) (2025)
- [Generative Human Geometry Distribution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.01448/) (2025)
- [GarmageNet: A Multimodal Generative Framework for Sewing Pattern Design and Generic Garment Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.01483/) (2025)
- [MeshTailor: Cutting Seams via Generative Mesh Traversal](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.27309/) (2026)
- [MeshFlow: Mesh Generation with Equivariant Flow Matching](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.23489/) (2026)
- [SuperCarver: Texture-Consistent 3D Geometry Super-Resolution for High-Fidelity Surface Detail Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.09439/) (2025)
- [Text2VDM: Text to Vector Displacement Maps for Expressive and Interactive 3D Sculpting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.20045/) (2025)
- [GenVDM: Generating Vector Displacement Maps From a Single Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.00605/) (2025)
- [Hyper Diffusion Avatars: Dynamic Human Avatar Generation using Network Weight Space Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.04145/) (2025)
- [Repurposing 2D Diffusion Models for 3D Shape Completion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.13991/) (2025)
- [AnySurf: Any Surface Generation with Directed Edge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.26149/) (2026)
- [Revisiting Avatar-As-Image: High-Fidelity Registration is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.11722/) (2026)
- [Deeply Dual Supervised learning for melanoma recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.01994/) (2025)
- [Edge Detection for Organ Boundaries via Top Down Refinement and SubPixel Upsampling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.06805/) (2025)
- [DualResolution Residual Architecture with Artifact Suppression for Melanocytic Lesion Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.06816/) (2025)
- [VesselRW: Weakly Supervised Subcutaneous Vessel Segmentation via Learned Random Walk Propagation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.06819/) (2025)
- [SwiftTailor: Efficient 3D Garment Generation with Geometry Image Representation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.19053/) (2026)
- [LACON: Training Text-to-Image Model from Uncurated Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.26866/) (2026)
- [Mat'ern Noise for Triangulation-Agnostic Flow Matching on Meshes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.19305/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We introduce a new approach for generating realistic 3D models with UV maps through a representation termed "Object Images." This approach encapsulates surface geometry, appearance, and patch structures within a 64x64 pixel image, effectively converting complex 3D shapes into a more manageable 2D format. By doing so, we address the challenges of both geometric and semantic irregularity inherent in polygonal meshes. This method allows us to use image generation models, such as Diffusion Transformers, directly for 3D shape generation. Evaluated on the ABO dataset, our generated shapes with patch structures achieve point cloud FID comparable to recent 3D generative models, while naturally supporting PBR material generation.