Learn how to use 3D in PowerPoint

PowerPoint is the most popular presentation software from MS Office suite and it was not intended to be used as a 3D software, but if you need to make awesome 3D Presentations then it is good to know how to make this kind of presentation decks using PowerPoint 3D features.

3D in PowerPoint

In this article we will review the best 3D PowerPoint features and options to make it possible to use PowerPoint graphics and 3D in PowerPoint slides.

In PowerPoint you can change the format options for each individual or group of shapes. The Format Shape window is available from the right menu over a shape. This allow you to change how the shape looks and turn any 2D shape into 3D shape. You can make awesome 3D PowerPoint Graphics using the Format Shape window so it is a powerful presentation authoring tool to make a PowerPoint.

3D in PowerPoint – 3D Format

One of the most important tabs in Format Shape is 3D Format. This tab allows you to change the way shapes will look on the slide. For example, using this tab you can control the bevel style for the shape, the depth if you use perspective or 3D styles, the contour color and size, and other properties like the surface and lighting styles.

3D in PowerPoint
3D Format

 

Format Shape – 3D Rotation

Another very useful tab is the 3D rotation tab, which allows you to control the position of the shape in the virtual 3D coordinate space. This can be really helpful to control how the shape will look in the slide. You can add perspective, or change the X, Y, Z values. Also you can control how to display the text and object position.

3D in PowerPoint ppt rotation
3D Rotation

The presets allows you to change the shape style quickly based on a list of pre-defined formats. For example, we have applied the presets to this simple triangle to make it look like a 3D triangle. You can try changing the 3D properties and perspective degrees. If you select perspective, then make sure you add a depth value in the 3D Format tab.

3d triangles

By using 3D and Edit Shapes you can easily change the look and feel for your PowerPoint 3D diagrams, for example, we have edited the shape from the 3D pyramid to use a trapezoid in PowerPoint and this is the result.

edit shape 3d 3d trapezoid

Here you can see how to apply a perspective style to existing shapes.

perspective 3d

And here you have some additional examples for inspiration. You can compare how the 2D style looks and then the 3D variant. In the 3rd column you can see a custom 3D object built with shapes 3D in PowerPoint.  Of course you can also make other complex 3D diagrams and PowerPoint slides.

custom 3d object

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