This week we tried to do some face scanning using photos added into “123D Catch”. One has to take several pictures from different angles and add it into the software which in turn adds all the pictures into one 3D model that one can work on. This 3D model would later on be imported to the 3D coating program. In the 3D coating program we try to apply poly surfaces to complete a human face that can be put onto a 3D modeled body.
As I scanned in my face in the 3D modeling program things got pretty ugly, but it was scary the way it worked. The first few times I had some missing surfaces on my face and I tried to connect everything trough the software, I had to redo it a couple of times before I got it right. After patching the face together I did not get a good result but I thought that I could use it only to apply polys and later on adding the texture. But then there was the problem with exporting the stuff from the “123D Catch” software to the 3D Coating software. I managed to import it once but I could not work on it as it disappeared all of a sudden, I tried it a couple of times but could not get it right, the time was running out so I had to skip working with my face and use an already existing one. Trying out a new software means that you have to learn all the commands for it, this took a lot of time too and also the process of how to actually work with the face to make it loop properly.
This is unfortunately how far I got, I will try to continue with this later when I get the time but right now I got too much on my plate. But as far as I understood the thing is that by using key landmarks one should be able to orient and make good use of the face “muscular” construction, and there are areas in the face that are actually similar to each other. The eyes and mouth follows the same form, but I could not do the cheek part right, I guess that this needs to be read into a lot more before I progress.
We were also advised to read the “Photogrammetry’ in ‘The Vanishing of Ethan Carter” article where they talk about how they used 3D scanning, and reading this game me a bit of insight of how future modeling can be used, it surely are a log way until we can use more polys in modeling but I think that this method would prove to be useful when we want to create realistic environment. They mentioned that they too had to lower the poly count as the original models would be too heavy to use, but they managed to still deliver the reality feeling. They suggest that with the use of 3D scanning we can capture details that we normally don’t think about adding, such as nature based effects on the environments that may have been shaping everything for more than a thousand years (As artist only try to design these things in a couple of days), this is something that may do a large impact on future modeling.
A Student Game Design Blog - By Ahmad Ali 