A method of making a near-net superhard material body includes preparing granules from a mixture of superhard powder, binders, and fluids, compacting the granules to form a soft green complex-shaped body, heating the soft green body in a furnace to form a hard green body free from residual binders, embedding one or more of the hard green bodies in a containment powder or a containment means and forming a pressure cell, sintering the cell at high pressure and high temperature, and removing the containment powder from the cell or removing the inserts from the containment means to reveal one or more near-net bodies.