3d scanners. I have questions

[mummey]

Yeah I've seen some other technology as well as this one. For being a stationary 3D scanner, its pretty decent. The best? That would greatly depend on what you're trying to scan and how you're trying to scan it. This device, nor any others, will work in all 3D scanning scenarios.

Just my 2 cents.

[bluecanvas]

Prototype magazine has an article about it

http://www.prototypemagazine.com/

4th article on the right.

[elfufu]

the next engine scanner is the best scanner u can buy for the money period. we use it at cafeFX for reference models.

i have been building an archive of models to use as reference for my personal and professional works. not to resurface but theres no better reference than nature itself.

highly recommended.

[Ariel]

hey Miguel,

do you have examples that you can show of organic stuff scanned with this system? I'm highly interested in this topic and was wondering how easy it is to get something in, for the same exact purpose that you do it, just for personal reference.

I'm mostly interested in scanning heads and knowing how easy it would be to use this system for that purpose, considering that it is very small and probably doesn't cover a large area with ease.

thanks!

[elfufu]

let me get a go ahead at work before i post a bunch of models.
but it should be ok.. will let u know this week

i cant begin to explain how nice this thing is , the scans are dead on, i scanned in a lifesize bust and i got down to the pore level. as for the size, its a pain sometimes but i scanned in the pans labrynth head to have as reference (its gorgeous) and i was able to just do seperate scans and attach the pieces from seperate scans.


its not as precise as an xyz rgb scan. but they are good enbough to get all the major forms u will need. and even some smaller ones.

[Ariel]

awesome, I really appreciate it :)

by the way, do you ever use it to scan real-life subjects or just busts , casts, etc.. how many angles do you typically use for something like a human head?

[elfufu]

yes i have , however u get banding on the mesh because of movement.
the best thing is casts,

ive seen good life results though...maybe im not doing something right

[adam-crockett]

Subscribed! I want to watch this thread. Cant wait to see examples.

[mummey]

The lab I used to work at had one of these (http://www.zcorp.com/products/zscanner700.asp?ID=1).

http://www.zcorp.com/images/splash/ZScanner-header.jpg

This one is (obviously from the photo) non-stationary. I liked working with it.

Downside: Its $40k

[NextTodd]

Hey Ariel,

Check out my gallery for a face scan I did with the NextEngine scanner.

I can tell you that's it's quite tricky to hold still for the duration of a scan (about 90 seconds). I was only able to accomplish this by creating a head-holding rig out of clay. Even so, you can see subtle ripples in the data from breathing motion. Not bad overall, though.


Miguel, I'd like to see those images, if you got 'em.

[AmyScott-Murray]

*Can you animate,rig and texture and everything else as if you model it from scratch?



Am I right in thinking that it would be very difficult to animate a scanned head, setting up blendshapes and so on, because the mesh topology is pretty random (and high density) compared to a model that's been built with deformation in mind? Or has the technology moved on since I last read about it?

[zzacmann]

Am I right in thinking that it would be very difficult to animate a scanned head, setting up blendshapes and so on, because the mesh topology is pretty random (and high density) compared to a model that's been built with deformation in mind? Or has the technology moved on since I last read about it?

I've never personally used a 3d scanner before, but I've always been under the impression that this is never done. The mesh might be textured and used as is if its a still shot or in an animation in which there's no deformation, but if its going to be something animated, like a face or head, the mesh is always rebuilt with simpler/useable topology using the scan as a reference.

[adam-crockett]

I've never personally used a 3d scanner before, but I've always been under the impression that this is never done. The mesh might be textured and used as is if its a still shot or in an animation in which there's no deformation, but if its going to be something animated, like a face or head, the mesh is always rebuilt with simpler/useable topology using the scan as a reference.

To add to what zzacman said, you can also bake all that scanned detail into a bump map (normal, displacement, whatever) to be used on the simpler/useable topology. I'd imagine some touchup/cleanup to the scanned head in Zbrush or Mudbox would be in order first.

[jeremybirn]

I was really impressed by looking at the Nextengine scanner at this year's SIGGRAPH.

$2500 is the price range of a nice laptop. It's an amazing pricepoint for a color laser scanner, and the product looked like the real deal to me from the demo I saw right outside of the Gorilla Studio.

In terms of other companies, http://www.cyberware.com/ is the pioneer in this field and makes a lot of the high-end advanced models. They also have an FTP site of sample digitized models you can download.

-jeremy

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