Inside the Viral ‘Nano Banana’ Craze: Creating 3D Figurines with AI

The internet is currently captivated by a trend centered around 3D figurines created from images. This phenomenon is powered by Google’s Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, an AI tool that allows users to transform photos into detailed 3D models in moments. The tool, unofficially dubbed ‘Nano Banana’ by the online community, has seen widespread adoption, with users creating digital representations of their friends, family, and even famous personalities. The technology democratizes 3D modeling, making it free and easy to create custom figurines without any prior design experience. Key to the process is the use of prompts, which guide the AI to generate accurate and visually appealing models. The output often preserves important features, including expressions and clothing, contributing to the trend’s engaging realism.