CGTrader AI: the AI 3D Model Generator Included in Your Subscription

There are more ways to create in 3D than ever. We're excited to introduce CGTrader AI, built right into CGTrader, alongside our library of designer-made models. In this post, learn what CGTrader AI is (and what it isn't), and how it works.

TL;DR

• CGTrader AI is an AI 3D model generator built into CGTrader, the world's largest 3D model marketplace. It will keep evolving as AI 3D technology does.
• It turns text prompts and images into 3D models, and lets you remesh, texture, segment, and animate your own ideas or eligible marketplace models.
• It runs on three leading AI 3D engines: Tripo, Meshy, and Hunyuan. You pick the one that suits the job.
• It's part of your CGTrader subscription. Your 25 monthly uses cover AI generations and library downloads, so one plan gives you both.
• Try it for free → 5 AI generations, no credit card required.

What is CGTrader AI?

CGTrader AI is an AI-powered 3D model generator and editor available now with a CGTrader subscription. It creates 3D models from text or images, then helps you refine them, all in the same place you already browse and download 3D assets.

It does two jobs:

1. Create 3D models with AI

• Text to 3D: Describe what you need in a prompt, and the AI generates a 3D model from it.
• Image to 3D: Upload a reference image and turn it into a 3D asset. It's the more predictable way to get the 3D asset you have in mind, especially from a clear, real photo.

2. Enhance 3D models with AI

• Remesh: Optimize topology so a model is lighter and easier to work with.
• Texture: Generate or improve textures.
• Segment: Split a model into separate parts you can edit individually.
• Animate: Add movement to a model.

The enhance tools work on models you generate, models you made yourself, and eligible models you download from the CGTrader marketplace. So you can grab a library asset and adapt it, instead of starting from zero.

Six presets for different jobs

Before you generate, you pick a preset that sets the tool up for what you're making:

• Standard: A balanced, all-round setting. The best place to start if you're new or unsure.
• Hero asset: Maximum detail for the main object in a scene, the one viewers look at up close.
• Prop asset: Lighter output for supporting objects and background props that don't need hero-level detail.
• Shape only: Geometry without textures. Useful for blockouts, or when you plan to texture the model yourself.
• Low Poly: A low polygon count for games, mobile, and other real-time projects where performance matters.
• 3D print: Set up for printing, with a focus on high-detail geometry rather than textures.

Three engines, one interface

Instead of locking you into a single AI model, CGTrader AI gives you access to three of the leading AI 3D engines:

Each engine has its own strengths, and results can vary a lot depending on the subject. Being able to run the same idea through different engines, without needing separate subscriptions, is one of the most practical parts of the tool.

Who is CGTrader AI for?

• Concept artists and designers exploring shapes and directions quickly
• 3D printing hobbyists making decorative prints such as figurines, busts, vases, and tabletop pieces
• Agencies and marketers who need quick 3D visuals for pitches, mockups, social content, e-commerce, and AR
• Studios filling out scenes with simple background objects, while their artists focus on hero work

What CGTrader AI is not

Clear expectations make better tools. Here's what CGTrader AI isn't trying to be:

• It's not a replacement for skilled 3D artists. AI is good at fast, simple, and exploratory work. Hero assets, complex rigs, production-ready characters, and anything that needs real art direction still belong to human designers.
• It's not a shortcut to a finished production asset every time. AI output is often a starting point. In our team's testing, it got shape and proportions right quickly, but production work still needed manual cleanup of topology, textures, and scale. Expect to iterate, or combine it with models from the library.
• It's not a single proprietary model. You're not stuck with one engine's style or limits. You choose between Tripo, Meshy, and Hunyuan.
• It's not a separate product with a separate bill. It sits inside your CGTrader subscription, alongside the 3D model library. You don't need to leave CGTrader to use AI, or give up access to work by skilled 3D artists to try it. Both sit side by side, so it's never one versus the other: you decide what fits each project.
• It's not replacing the marketplace. The 1.7M-model subscription library, and the wider CGTrader 3M+ model marketplace, are still here and growing, powered by 150K+ talented designers.

How do I get CGTrader AI? It's part of your subscription

CGTrader AI is included in the CGTrader subscriptions. You don't buy AI credits on one platform and 3D models from a library on another. Your 25 monthly uses work across both: spend them on AI generations, library downloads, or any mix that fits your project that month.

With one subscription, you get:

• Text to 3D and Image to 3D generation
• Remesh, Texture, Segment, and Animate tools for your own or eligible marketplace models
• Tripo, Meshy, and Hunyuan, three leading AI 3D engines, in one interface
• Access to our subscription library of royalty-free 3D models, licensed for commercial use

Our subscription comes in two tiers, Essentials and Premium. Not sure which suits your work? Read our guide: CGTrader Premium vs. Essentials: which plan is right for you?

Want to test it first? Every account gets 5 free AI generations, with no credit card required.

Why is CGTrader AI unique?

CGTrader is the only 3D marketplace that combines three leading AI 3D engines and a library of up to 1.7M 3D models made by artists and designers, in a single subscription.

Until now, getting both meant stitching tools together: a subscription to an AI generator (or several, if you wanted to compare engines), plus a separate marketplace account for designer-made models, each with its own billing, license terms, and file workflow.

CGTrader AI puts that in one place:

• One subscription, one allowance. Generate when you need something new, download when the library already has it.
• Multiple engines, not one. Compare Tripo, Meshy, and Hunyuan output without juggling accounts.
• The library and AI working together. Download a model from the library, then remesh, retexture, segment, or animate it with AI.
• Built by a marketplace, for creators. We've spent 15 years connecting 12.5M+ users with work from 150K+ designers. AI is an addition to that, not a pivot away from it.

How to get the best results from CGTrader AI

Before launch, we asked members of our own 3D and 3D printing team to use CGTrader AI the way a customer would. Here's what they learned.

Text or image: which should you use?

• Text to 3D: Best for exploring ideas and variations. You set the style through your words, but you have less control over shape, and exact proportions are harder to specify.
• Image to 3D: Best for matching a specific design. You get more control over shape, proportions are much easier to get right, and the style is inherited from the image.

If you already know what it should look like, use an image. Our testers got the most predictable results from image input, especially real photos.

What makes a good reference image?

• One object, fully visible, on a simple or removed background
• A clear silhouette, sharp focus, and even lighting
• A fairly neutral camera angle, since strong perspective distorts proportions
• As little overlap as possible. Hidden parts get guessed, so for characters, a T-pose works best

Which preset should you pick? Start with Standard. Generate at high detail first: you can reduce the polygon count afterwards with Remesh, which also converts the mesh to quads. For 3D printing, use the 3D print preset, set the material to geometry only (unless you print in full color), and keep the polycount at its highest.

Which engine should you choose? For many objects, all three engines produce something usable. If you're unsure, start with Tripo. When a reference is difficult, with thin parts, hidden geometry, or unusual shapes, try more than one engine and keep the result you like best.

Check the scale. Generated models don't use real-world scale. Each engine normalizes objects to its own size, so always resize after import.

What prints well? AI generation is strongest for visual and decorative models:

• Great fit: statues, busts, figurines, animals, creatures, simple toys, tabletop pieces, vases, planters, and reliefs
• Possible with extra work: thin weapons, fingers, or hair, large wings, foliage, heavy overhangs, and very small detail. Expect supports, thickening, splitting, or cleanup
• Not a good fit: gears, threads, hinges, snap-fits, print-in-place mechanisms, and any part that needs exact dimensions

A print-ready model from one of our designers often comes prepared: sized, oriented, checked for wall thickness, and sometimes pre-supported. An AI model gives you the geometry, and you handle the rest.

Frequently asked questions

What is CGTrader AI? CGTrader AI is an AI 3D model generator and editor inside the CGTrader marketplace. It creates 3D models from text or images and can remesh, texture, segment, and animate models.

Which AI engines does CGTrader AI use? CGTrader AI gives you access to Tripo, Meshy, and Hunyuan, three leading AI 3D generation engines, from one interface.

Is CGTrader AI included in the CGTrader subscription? Yes. AI generations and library downloads share the same 25 monthly uses, so one subscription covers both.

Can I try CGTrader AI for free? Yes. You get 5 free AI generations with no credit card required.

Can I edit models I downloaded from CGTrader with AI? Yes. You can enhance, edit, and customize your own models and eligible marketplace models.

Do unused monthly uses roll over? No. Unused generations and downloads expire at the end of each billing cycle.

Does CGTrader AI replace 3D artists? No. CGTrader AI is designed for simple assets, experimentation, and prototyping. Detailed, production-ready, and art-directed work still comes from skilled designers, and CGTrader's library of human-made models keeps growing.

When did AI 3D model generation start? AI 3D generation took off in 2022, when Google released DreamFusion and OpenAI released Point-E. Commercial engines such as Tripo, Meshy, Rodin, and Hunyuan 3D matured through 2024 to 2026.

Will CGTrader AI keep improving? Yes. CGTrader AI is built on leading AI 3D engines that update frequently, and we'll keep adding tools and workflows based on what our community needs.

Start creating

CGTrader AI is live today, and it will keep getting better. Try it, tell us what you need, and help shape what comes next.

Try 5 free AI generations →