Meet the new AI craze: 3D figurines from selfies with Google’s Nano Banana

Scroll through Instagram or X right now and you can’t miss it, people everywhere are turning themselves into tiny 3D toy versions, complete with those plastic bases, mini collector boxes, and that glossy finish that makes it look like you could actually snag one at Comic Con.

This isn’t just some cutesy filter, these “figures” look so legit, you half expect someone to start trading them online.

From Ghilbi to Funko Pops

Ask Gen Z about the culture they’re obsessed with, and you’re not going to hear about ancient civilisations or long-lost traditions. Nope, trend culture on social media is where it’s at. There’s always something new popping off, and everyone wants in, because let’s face it, life can get a bit dull. If a viral trend lets people inject a little fun and creativity into their day, who’s complaining?

What’s wild is just how much AI is now the engine behind all these trends. Remember the Ghibli Art craze? The internet basically caught fire, and even Sam Altman had to admit that servers were melting from all the demand. But trends don’t sleep, and just as the Ghibli art wave settled, a new one’s taken over: the figurine trend. This time, it’s about turning your selfies into proper collectible 3D characters, thanks to Google’s latest party trick, Nano Banana. It’s dead simple, totally addictive, and honestly, it might just be the most fun you’ll have with your own face this month.

How to get a 3D-printed toy version of yourself

Most people are using the "Nano Banana" for this trend, a tool within Google's Gemini. You just upload a photo of yourself, then give the AI a very specific prompt that tells it exactly what to create.

Here’s the prompt many people are using to get that perfect, realistic look:

“Create a 1/7 scale commercialized figurine of the characters in the picture, in a realistic style, in a real environment. The figurine is placed on a computer desk. The figurine has a round transparent acrylic base, with no text on the base. The content on the computer screen is a 3D modeling process of this figurine. Next to the computer screen is a toy packaging box, designed in a style reminiscent of high-quality collectible figures, printed with original artwork. The packaging features two-dimensional flat illustrations.”

In just a few seconds, you get a super realistic image, complete with a little acrylic stand, toy-box packaging, and even a mock "computer screen" showing the whole "modelling process."

Turning it into a dancing video

Of course, the internet never stops at just one step. After creating their still image, many people are turning their figurines into videos to really lean into the trend.

This is where tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Veo come in. The process is pretty cool: you feed your figurine image into ChatGPT, ask it to generate a detailed video prompt, and then take that prompt and your image over to Veo.

Now, if you’d ask why GPT for the prompt and not Gemini, personal experience GPT does it better. What you get is a short, slick animation of your figurine, perfect for Instagram Reels, or YouTube Shorts.

Another trend that’ll turn into a fad?

When you first see one of these, you might just think it's another silly internet trend, but it's actually a great example of how AI is rapidly becoming a natural part of our online world.

Not that long ago, making a 3D render like this would have meant you needed a powerful computer, complex software, and some real design skills. Now, all you need is a phone and a little curiosity, and voila, you’re good to go!