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Why does a stock website offers 3D models at a price considerably lower? How do that harm the market, artists, buyers? To understand a laborious progress of 3d model creation and evaluate a price formation, let’s learn the pipeline and see how to make turn-key creation of scanned 3d model.

Devaluation of 3d model and harm it brings 

3d models with price much cheaper than their real value, cannot but affect the state of the market. The following issues begin to form:

• 3d artists, who work diligently and produce high-quality models for sale, are forced to cut their prices down. Otherwise they’d become uncompetitive.
• To justify their costs and to get at least some profit, the artists should increase the working speed and the number of models offered. Meanwhile decreasing the quality of the offered product.
• With the unaltered resources at their disposal, it is impossible to increase quantity, without loss of quality. In the end, a customer is deprived of a means to get realistic and well-developed 3d models, needed for his own work.

The price of the final result is based by the following factors. The sum of means and resources, invested in a task. The time and effort expended. Lastly, the so-called “value-added”, in terms of economics science. If we consider all the stages of work and factors that indirectly affect the formation of prices, it becomes clear, why a good 3d body model is worth its money.

Stages of creation scanned 3d model

A model creation process has several stages. These are usually performed by different specialists, since each stage requires specific skills and particular professional equipment.

First stage: object scanning

The creation of scanned 3d model begins with a special photoshoot of an alive model. The photographs are later used to get a 3d image. A prototype for a 3d figure model is made using a photogrammetry scanner – a combination of special equipment and software.

The outcome is similar to a figurine. Yet, at this stage, it is but a fusion of images; a separate image for each side and angle of an alive model. In order to obtain a finished look and make it ready for use, the model has to pass through the hands of a 3d model artist first.

Second stage: cleaning a scanned 3d model

The original (raw) scanned 3d model needs cleaning before it can be used. Artist defines each element of  3d model with careful precision. The usual list of tasks consist of:

• Removing unnecessary pieces of geometry between the different parts of the body;
• Chiseling out parts that require a subtle approach and a special attention to their details (fingers, face);
• Distributing polygons and assigning the general polygon count of the model;
• Creating UV maps and performing a UV unwrapping;
• Cleaning the textures with a minimal retouching, removing seams in inconspicuous places;
• Baking normal maps.

If model is scan of human, it is needed to separate the body and the clothes, disconnect the fingers, chisel out the crossed arms (or any similar elements that overlap) and remove excess pieces (such as noise particles).

From a photographed model to a finished character, a complete cleaning takes about 3 hours of neat, laborious work. Despite the fact that there is an initial “prototype”, the process itself is similar to a work of a sculptor and requires knowledge of basic anatomy.

Who is a 3d character maker? 

A specialist who prepares 3d scanned model for later use in archviz scenes possess a combination of the following skills:

• Knowledge of anatomy;
• Basic drawing and sculpting skills – both classic and digital;
• Confidence and working experience with the software, focused at 3d sculpting and artistic reworking;
• Working experience with a graphic tablet.

Tools and software used in creation of scanned 3d model

To perform all operations successfully a 3d artist requires several programs. It is necessary to have an experienced knowledge of the software. A knowledge of software features and their relevance per task. Moreover, an ability to transfer the data between the programs that are used in a pipeline:    

• ZBrush
• Photoshop
• 3DCoat
• Maya
• 3DMax

A software license is an additional financial investment that affects the price of the produced 3d model.

Price formation

The cost of the final 3d product is based by many factors and units. Some of them are easy to calculate, while others are more tricky to estimate for a general pipeline.

In order to work with 3d graphic several assets are crucial:

• the purchase of software
• computer equipment
• server equipment.

These expenses should also pay off through the released product. It is rather hard to calculate a specific amount that needs to be put into each model. But, these aspects must be taken into account.

Conclusion

The 3d visualization market is growing and expanding. Nowadays, new kinds of 3d products of various skill and quality levels is filling the market. Buyers show sophistication and demanding. Professionals try to follow the tendency for demand.

It takes months of meticulous, hard work for a studio or an individual artist to create a 3d models library; then designers and architects can use the library.

Buying models from their makers not only pays for the ready-to-use creations, but also provides an investment in the further development of 3d products market. As a result, the 3d creators can work without stress. Can acquire up-to-date equipment and learn new programs. But only if they are sure that their effort will not be wasted.

Unreasonably cheap 3d models cause irreparable harm to studios and artists. That fact nullifies hours of painstaking work. Often, the sellers have nothing to do with their 3d creation. Thus, they can provide no quality control. Naturally, whether or not to accept such offers is a personal choice for everyone. But it is important to support the market and develop it with high-quality and reliably evaluated 3d models.