Week 12 3D Scanned Model

Concept 

Unfortunately, my partner, Quinn Sherer, and I went through quite a few failed scans until we learned what types of objects scan better and what types the scanner doesn't like. Finally, the object that ended up working for us best was this fake little potted succulent. 

scanned object-fake succulent

Technique


We took 2 scans of the succulent, both vertical and horizontal. We then trimmed any excess parts of the scan platform out. Next, we ran some alignments within the two scan families, and then aligned the two families with each other. This part was extremely difficult because we realized we didn't put any kind of markings on the object that would help us align the object. We should've done so, however we didn't want to ruin the object (since my roommate intended to use it afterwards). 

We somehow managed to align the object well enough, but it still had quite a few issues, so we imported it into RapidWorks, and fixed the holes, and did several fusing steps, including using the Mesh Buildup Wizard.
Afterwards, we polished and smoothed parts of the object, but were dissatisfied with the result. We later used the decimate command to reduce the poly-face count to about 7.5k. We liked this effect because it hid some of the texture imperfections, and it gave a cool sculptural look that would be believable as a sculpture.

Materials

In Keyshot, we assigned it a pistachio glossy painted glass material. I rendered the layers in passes and played with each of the layers in Photoshop to get the desired effect. We chose a green color to match UTD's eco green. 

3D Scanned Cactus-Rendered in Passes

Next, I imported the UTD photo of the plinth pond and aligned it to the ground. I placed the object in the center of the pond, as if it was a fountain sculpture or bird bath. It was difficult to make it look believable, but I added a shadow that matched the shadows of the objects in the photo, and added a strong reflection in the water. I used both Keyshot and Photoshop for both renderings.

3D Scanned Cactus in an Architectural Setting at UTD

Overall, I am happy with the way the object scanned, and I think it looks pretty realistic, and I like that the color matches the school's green. 

Revised Rendering

Here, I revised my rendering by making a better cropping of the photo, increasing the size of the object, and making part of the object look like it was submerged under water. I struggled with that last part the most, but I think that overall, it does look a bit more realistic. I think that for as difficult of an approach I took to placing my rendering in an architectural context, it is done well.