Drawing 3D Meshes in Blender 4.3 | Grease Pencil & Geometry Nodes + Free Project File

Hey everyone, it’s Kevin—welcome back! Today, I’m diving into an exciting new way to create mesh vases using Grease Pencil and Geometry Nodes in Blender 4.3. This workflow mimics the Screw Modifier but with far more flexibility, allowing you to use Grease Pencil’s editing tools while leveraging procedural geometry.

Blender’s Grease Pencil is a powerful tool that lets you draw directly in 3D space, typically used for animation and 2D/3D hybrid art. However, with Blender 4.3’s integration of Geometry Nodes, Grease Pencil has become even more versatile, opening up new modeling possibilities.

If you follow me on social media, you’ve probably seen my recent experiments with this combination. This vase setup is a simple but powerful use case, and I’m excited to show you how to create your own. And don't worry if you're new to Geometry Nodes—this tutorial keeps things simple! I'll also be sharing the project file on Gumroad, so you can explore and experiment on your own. Let’s get started!

1. Setting Up Blender

  1. Open Blender 4.3.2 (this setup won’t work in earlier versions).

  2. Delete the default cube (X key).

  3. Press Shift + A and add a Grease Pencil Stroke.

  4. Switch the Dope Sheet window to the Geometry Nodes Editor.

  5. Click New and name it something like GP Screw Mesh.

2. Converting Grease Pencil to a Curve

  1. Add a Grease Pencil to Curves node.

    • This converts your Grease Pencil stroke into a curve, making the original stroke disappear.

  2. Add a Curve to Mesh node.

    • This is where we turn our curve into actual geometry.

  3. Connect a Curve Circle to the Profile Curve input.

    • This will give thickness to the path.

  4. Instead of a Curve Line, use Grease Pencil to define the profile.

  5. Disable Layers as Instances in the node settings.

3. Adjusting the Orientation

  1. Add a Transform Geometry node.

  2. Rotate the stroke 90° along the X and Y axes.

  3. Connect it back to the Curve to Mesh node.

  4. Reduce the Curve Circle’s radius to 0.1 to match your drawn stroke.

Now, when you go into Draw Mode, you can sketch any shape and see it instantly turn into a 3D form!

4. Refining the Vase Shape

  1. Add an Extrude Mesh node.

    • Toggle off Individual and set Offset to 0.025.

  2. If your faces look incorrect, use a Flip Faces node.

  3. Smooth it out with:

    • A Subdivision Surface node (Level 2).

    • A Set Shade Smooth node.

5. Experimenting with Shapes and Modifiers

  • Lower the Curve Circle’s resolution to 4 to create a square profile.

  • Add Grease Pencil modifiers like Noise or Build (before the Geometry Nodes setup).

  • Use Grease Pencil’s sculpting tools like Grab and Smooth for fine-tuning.

6. Adding Materials & Converting to Mesh

  1. Drop in a Set Material node and assign a mesh material.

  2. If you need more control, convert the object into a mesh:

    • Add a Cube and create a new Geometry Nodes setup.

    • Use an Object Info node to reference the Grease Pencil stroke.

    • Connect it to the Group Output.

    • Apply the modifier to turn it into actual geometry.

At this point, you can sculpt, texture, or apply shaders to your vase!

What’s Included in the Project File?

In my Gumroad project file, you’ll find:

  • The flower arrangement with the vase already set up.

  • A painterly shader, world shader, and outline geometry node setup.

  • Some compositing effects to tie everything together.

I might do a separate walkthrough for these additional features, but I wanted to call them out so you don’t miss them!

Final Thoughts

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! It’s just scratching the surface of what you can do with Grease Pencil and Geometry Nodes. If you have any questions, feel free to drop them in the comments.

Also, don’t forget to check out the YouTube video where I walk through this process in more detail. Thanks again for tuning in, and I’ll see you in the next one!

◈ PROJECT FILE DOWNLOAD ◈ ❚ https://kevandram.gumroad.com/l/drawing3dmesh

◈ DOWNLOAD BLENDER ◈ ❚ https://builder.blender.org/download/daily/

◈ CHECK OUT MY GREASE PENCIL COURSE ◈ ❚ CG Boost: https://www.cgboost.com/courses/master-grease-pencil-in-blender

Kevin Ramirez