A method and apparatus for searching a database of 3D items using descriptors created for each item and for the 3D computer-generated model or the 3D physical object. The descriptor comprises a vector string comprising each of the feature vectors extracted from the images, and dimension-related features each representing a dimensional feature. The descriptor is created by obtaining 2D rendered images of the model by rotating the model about each different axis independently, and extracting a feature vector representing features. The model is rotated about the axes in angular steps which may be the same for each axis. The axes may comprise three mutually-perpendicular axes, where each angular step is in the range from 30° to 45°.