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Tutorial How to 3D scan your minis

Discussion in 'Tutorials' started by Phoedinn, Jun 8, 2016.

  1. Phoedinn
    Razordon

    Phoedinn Well-Known Member

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    Hello everyone!

    Over on my painting blog I've been trying out a new way to show off my minis, 3D scanning! So, if you want to produce things like this For your own paint blog, I decided to write up a little tutorial telling you what software you need and how to get it uploaded and ready to show to people on the forums :)

    Step 1: Setup

    To start your 3D scan you will need to download a program called "123D Capture" on your smartphone of choice. The program has it's own very good tutorial on how to use it, so I won't go into detail here, but basically you will need to take 20+ photos of your model from all different angles.

    Tips:
    • Try to take an extra few around any parts of the model with extra detail to make sure it's captured well.
    • It's also important to consider lighting, as any shadows will be baked directly to the textures!
    • Don't be tempted to spin the mini around, instead of moving your camera, as this will cause crazy shadows and lighting in the finished product.
    • You don't need to show the whole mini in each photo. The majority should be fully in the frame but a few closer photos of detailed areas should help make it look that little bit better!

    Step 2: Wait....wait.......waaaait

    Once you take your photos it will take a good while (a few hours at least) for your model to process. For this reason it can be a good idea to capture a few in one session.

    Step 3: Download

    Once your model is done, login to the PC version of the 123D website (here) and login with your details. Next, find your model by clicking on "me" at the top right and then "models".

    (you can, if you wish, stop here are share this page. However the way I'm showing you uses a much nicer viewer that can be embedded on sites, with the added bonus of not showing your full name at the top of the page!)

    Under "details" on the model's page click "obj."
    t1.jpg


    Then tick "Mesh Package". This will download a zip file with all the files you need.
    t2.jpg

    Step 3: Clean up

    If you decide you want to clean up your mesh before upload (removing the floor ect.) Then you are going to need a 3D modeling program. If you don't have £3000 pounds lying about, I would recommend Blender, as this is free.

    (I can't give any exact tutorials for this, as I'm not a user of Blender myself. Plus it should be fairly simple to delete faces and there are many good tutorials on youtube and other sites.)

    After you are done you are going to need to export your model as an "obj" file. save this in the same place as where you opened it.

    If, however , you don't want to get bogged down with any of this I would be happy to edit a mesh for people!(assuming I don't get hundreds of request :S ) Just upload the zip file somewhere I can access and PM me the link.

    Step 4: Upload

    To upload, first you will need an account on Sketchfab. Once you have an account click "Upload" at the top right, then "Choose file". Browse to the Zip file containing your obj and select it. Click "open" if you did this right you will see the obj and a list of texture files. Click continue.

    t3.jpg
    Here you can type a quick description if you wish, then click continue again.

    Step 5: Edit and publish!

    If you want, click publish now and paste the link onto your blog! If you want to make sure it looks as best as it can click on "settings" and "3D settings".

    These are the settings I use:
    t4.jpg

    Thats it! Click publish and copy the link to share.

    I hope people found this useful (and not to rambly)! Post any questions you may have below.

    Phodinn
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2016
  2. Phoedinn
    Razordon

    Phoedinn Well-Known Member

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    Reserved for future use :)
     
  3. Freddy25
    Kroxigor

    Freddy25 Well-Known Member

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    This is amazing!
    Thank you a lot for this, @Phoedinn , I will certainly take all these infos into account. :snaphappy:
     
    SlanntaClause and Phoedinn like this.

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