3D scanning your artwork will not only digitally preserve it, but also make it possible to quickly replicate it as many times as you'd like to sell to your customers Are you an artist looking to 3D print copies of your work? In this blog, we'll walk you through the basic workflow of taking a freshly made sculpture from 3D scanning to 3D printing. While this process may sound complex at first, it couldn't be easier! Interested in learning more about the benefits of 3D scanning for artists? Check out our article "Should You 3D Scan Your Artwork?" here! Step #1 - 3D Scanning We start the proces ..read more

A short guide on turning your 3D scans into game-ready assets for use in Unreal Engine 5. Using your 3D scans as videogame assets is an easy way to create a realistic game environment with beautiful graphics. This process has been made even easier thanks to the introduction of Nanites in UE5, a new virtualized geometry system, which eliminates the need to worry about 3D models with high polygon counts. In this article, we'll walk you through the process of importing and staging your models in UE5 as well as the (optional) process of reducing your scan's file size in Blender. We hope that afte ..read more

An introductory tutorial on quickly creating free custom textures for your 3D scans. Before: After: While the majority of 3D scanners have the ability to capture a high-quality texture with your scan, there may be scenarios where you'd like to replace parts or all of your model's texture with a new one. For example, some textures, such as shiny or transparent ones, don't play well with scanners. You may need to cover such items in chalk spray before scanning, preventing the scanner's ability to capture texture. Other times, you may just want to experiment with alternate color and material pa ..read more

A quick guide to sharing your 3D scans online + how to use Sketchfab Lab Experiment's Screen Shots tool to create high resolution 'renders' from your post. If you've recently found us through our Sketchfab page, you may have noticed we have nearly 100 uploads! One of the advantages of publishing your models on Sketchfab over other 3D sites is their unique 3D viewer, which allows your model to be viewed in 360° and in AR. Uploading your models to Sketchfab is a wonderful way to showcase them, whether it's a 3D scan from us or any other accepted file type! While the process isn't complex, there ..read more

A look into 3D scanning small parts for reverse engineering, 3D printing, and retrofitting Over the summer, we were approached by a customer who wanted to replace a broken plastic component on their headphones. Since the part was from an older model and was difficult to locate on the market, the customer wanted to render it into a 3D printable CAD model. Upon our initial examination of the part, we noted that it was quite small and freeform in shape. This would make it difficult to accurately measure by hand for modeling from scratch— a perfect candidate for 3D scanning! Prepping The Scan Si ..read more

Exploring possible options for changing and improving your 3D scan's textures. Scenario—you have an amazing 3D scan with applied texture, but you'd like to take the materials up a level to really bring it to life. Where to start? In this post, we'll be walking you through a few possible options for two free software, Blender and Quixel Mixer. We'll be starting with this 4K textured scan of a memorial Hot Wheels belt buckle in Blender 3.0. If you'd like to follow along with our example model, you can download it free on our Sketchfab. Tip #1 - Adjusting Material in Blender 3.0 If you're just i ..read more

How our studio prepares our two most commonly requested apparel items, shoes and hats, for 3D scanning Ever wonder what kind of prep work goes into a professional 3D scan? How someone can take a floppy item, like a beanie, and make it look like it's being worn on an invisible subject's head? Or what small changes to a shoe's laces can elevate the quality of the scan? In this article, we'll be laying out a few of the steps our team takes when preparing apparel items for 3D scanning. Shoes and hats, two commonly requested items, will serve as our primary examples. Shoes Step #1 - Add Stuffing W ..read more

An easy guide on reducing 3D scan mesh size and baking textures from high poly to low poly in Blender. With such a wide variety of uses— game assets, NFTs, e-commerce, AR/VR, etc—there may be times when you need to reduce the file size of your 3D scan to suit a specific project. In this guide, we'll be walking you through lowering the poly count in your 3D mesh without compromising on quality. For this project, we'll be using two free and easy-to-use programs, Blender and Instant Meshes. If you'd like to follow along with our high poly example model, you can download it here on our Sketchfab ..read more

Exploring the limitations of structured light scanners and how to work around them when scanning subjects with more challenging textures As we've mentioned in previous articles, some textures, such as shiny or transparent ones, don't always play well with 3D scanners! A structured light scanner (the kind we employ in our studio) works by projecting a grid pattern of light onto its scanning subject. Cameras on the scanner watch the pattern of light and determine things like size, shape, and surface details of the subject by observing how the grid lays over the object. This process provides ama ..read more

Exploring different resolution choices for mesh data and texture in 3D scans. With all the possible options, it can be difficult to choose which resolution is best for your 3D scan project. While each project will have different needs, the first thing you may need to consider is this— what is more important, graphics or performance? Generally speaking, higher resolution and textures will create more lifelike models while creating higher poly counts and larger file sizes. Conversely, lower resolutions will save you processing power and space on your computer but will ultimately look less convi ..read more