Systems and methods are provided for performing diffusion-based image extrusion. According to one embodiment, a three dimensional model is created by polygonizing an input image to produce an inflatable image. The input image may be either a 2D image or icon or a 3D image or icon. The set of pixels making up the input image are represented as a plurality of polygons. Then, an initial value is assigned to a z-coordinate of each pixel in the set of pixels. After polygonizing the input image to create the inflatable image, the inflatable image is extruded by applying a biased image-based diffusion process to generate appropriate z-coordinate values for a reference point associated with each polygon of the plurality of polygons. In various embodiments, an end-user may be provided with the ability to interactively change one or more parameters associated with the inflatable image and/or the diffusion process.