Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Giving a 2D grid a 3D look – part 4

This project demonstrates a technique for rendering a 2D grid with three-dimensional visual depth. Part of a series exploring isometric or perspective-based grid visualization, it shows how to create the illusion of a… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Giving a 2D grid a 3D look – part 4 launched in 2021; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   I made a 3D SVG Renderer that projects textures without rasterization▲206

   How can you make affine transformations (the only ones SVGs are capable of) resemble perspective transformations?

   2025 · seve.blog · its alternatives →

2. 2
   2D Isometric Editor▲78

   A program to generate isometric graphics from elevation data - Grille/2D-isometricRenderer

   2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

3. 3
   Abstract 3d illustrations▲102

   Quality 3d graphics for design projects

   2022 · abstract.wannathis.one · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Stable Diffusion powered level editor for a 2D game▲395

   Hey folks, I’ve been working on using control-net to take in a video game level (input as a depth image) and output a beautiful illustration of that level. Play with it here: dimensionhopper.com or read the blog post about what it took to get it to work. Been a super fun project.

   2023 · generalrobots.substack.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   My Isometric Voxel Engine 6 Months Later▲435

   Voxel Quest March Update from Gavan Woolery on Vimeo .

   2014 · voxelquest.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   3D Renderer Built using 2D HTML Canvas▲54

   2017 · vivekseth.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   Isometric Grids▲6

   Decorative and interactive isometric and 3D grids

   2016 · tympanus.net · its alternatives →

8. 8
   Webflow 3D Transforms▲318

   Build 3D interactions visually, without writing any code

   2015 · 3d-transforms.webflow.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   Shapen▲239

   Create 3D models from images

   2025 · shapen.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Slantt▲175

    Create stunning isometric graphics in minutes

    2021 · slantt.co · its alternatives →

11. 113R
    3D Raycasting Engine in JavaScript▲113

    2020 · ahuth.github.io · its alternatives →

12. 12
    3D Game Programming using bitblting in Windows▲109

    3D using bitblting in Windows. Contribute to lowlevel86/3D-Game-Programming development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Vectary Photon▲181

    One-click photorealistic rendering for 2D designers

    2019 · vectary.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Volume rendering 3D data in Three.js and GLSL▲108

    I've been going through Cem Yuksel's "Introduction to Computer Graphics" course and thought that writing a volume renderer would be a good way to test my knowledge. It is a common technique used to render 3D medical data. Works by ray marching a specific step size, reading a 3D texture (e.g. MRI data), and calculating opacity values. Code should be easy to get started with for anyone familiar with the JS ecosystem. Questions for the HN community: I spent 20-25% of the entire time just setting up the project and fighting issues with the JavaScript ecosystem. This experience has made me…

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Photo Grid for Sketch▲91

    A Sketch plugin for making grids easily

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Isomer – An isometric graphics library for HTML5 Canvas▲181

    2014 · jdan.github.io · its alternatives →

17. 17
    To The Third Dimension▲99

    Free 3D illustrations in 4K resolution

    2021 · tothethirddimension.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    Free 3D Slam Illustrations▲194

    Virtual reality gadgets are embodied in volumetric graphics

    2020 · craftwork.design · its alternatives →

19. 19
    3D-Parallax, labelfree 3D experience from a 2D image using parallax▲52

    Reproduce parallax effect for an user whose point of view is tracked by a camera - VincentLefevre/3D-parallax

    2021 · github.com · its alternatives →

20. 20AR
    A rudimentary game engine to build four dimensional VR evironments▲39

    I think it's finally time to lock version 0.2 of my 4d side project. (Since previous Show HN a couple of years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37100760 I scrapped lots of stuff and concentrated on making a javascript "game engine") The sole purpose of this project is to explore whether it's possible to make the human brain spatially aware of four dimensions using Virtual Reality. It’s my first ever game project, my first time using Unity, first time writing C#, and my first anything with WebXR, so please be gentle! To manage expectations, it isn't visually pleasing…

    2025 · brainpaingames.com · its alternatives →

21. 21IB
    I built a cute, little isometric block stacking editor in QML▲100

    Have fun learning more about the Qt Quick Rendering engine, starting with a ground plane, in this Minecraft-esque 3D block building game.

    2021 · kdab.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    A CSS 3D Engine (no WebGL)▲80

    A CSS 3D engine for the DOM. Renders polygon meshes in HTML by leveraging matrix3d transforms. - GitHub - layoutit/polycss: A CSS 3D engine for the DOM. Renders polygon meshes in HTML by leveraging matrix3d transforms.

    Jun 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

23. 23
    Pixel Paint 3D▲86

    Create 3D models from 2D pixel art

    2021 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    JavaScript plugin to build 360-degree images▲87

    A powerful JavaScript library for creating interactive 360-degree product views - scaleflex/cloudimage-360-view

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →