3D modelling is one of my visualist achilles heels. I don’t seem to have the kind of brain which can deconstruct objects into geometric solids. So it comes as no surprise that I’m extremely interested in 3D scanning (CDMo tag).
We’ve previously looked at the work of Kyle McDonald, who’s dealing in “Structured Light” scanning. I’ve been in touch with Kyle, so more on this very soon. In the meantime, Noisepages member Runagate has posted about ProFORMA, a promising 3D modelling technique using a single video input.
Created by Cambridge Engineering PhD student Qi Pan, ProFORMA uses a fixed camera to track motion of a model, and automatically generates both 3D mesh and texture! Obviously the demonstration above uses a reasonably simple, rigid model, so it remains to be seen how robust this could be for complex objects. Apparently ProFORMA will be released as freeware, so we’ll keep an eye on this in the coming months.
Despite our continued lack of hovercars, there really does seem to be a confluence of futuristic technology happening right now, much of which is extremely beneficial to digital artists. Between 3D Scanning and 3D Printing, I’m really looking forward to more of my art becoming tangible in the coming years.