Tutorial: Generating quick game geometry from simple photographs!

[StephenCook]

I too have seen the Photofly from Autodesk.

The images you are shooting have background elements that cause artifacts.
Have you tried to use green/blue screen. A solid color would make cleanup easier.
Could try it ans see. I do not have the nice camera for testing it out.

Nice tutorial btw.
Thanks for sharing.

[bp72]

Wanted to share a quick pipeline process I found recently using Zbrush and Autodesk's Photofly. Using a digital camera, Zbrush and Photofly you can create quick highly detailed game geometry extreamly fast. The first images show some of the test examples I have created. The youtube links are to the HD versions of the tutorial Videos.






HD Part1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyL8g1tlMMY
HD Part2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm9MJKWiyuU
HD Part3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPuuEIkGKUw
HD Part4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJdwefzdobU

Happy Zbrushing!!

-Joseph

So you did the headshot the same way? How many pictures for the headshot?

[bp72]

@mix_mash: The process can be done with any normal cameras. I didn't use any special settings I just took a camera and started walking in a circle taking pictures. As long as the camera produces EXIF data it will work.

A minimum of 2 pictures are required to generate the 3d effect (same process that was used in the old viewmasters back in the day, and the current 3D craze with TV's.) You just need to take enough pictures for the program to stitch together the subject you want to capture (if you have a camera that does panoramic mode that would help in making sure you don't miss any areas.)

Another quick example of a head 12 pictures with a Canon 7D were used. (just the raw data from photofly)


-Joseph

EXIF data is the key. Thank you so much for posting this.

[durda]

Joseph - thanks so much for sharing your insights and experience with the Autodesk Photofly (now 123D Catch) app. This thread and your tutorial videos have been extremely helpful. What a cool app!

I'm having just a bit of a problem, though, in getting a texture to apply in ZBrush and I'm wondering if someone here might be willing to take a look at my files. I'm a bit new to ZBrush and not near experienced enough to recognize what might be a quick recognition of a standard and easily fixable issue.

So, I created a couple of object files from images of some tree trunks. I know that the object files and the associated UVs and texture files are good because the files import into Vue with no problem whatsoever and they render out a fine images.

In ZBrush, however, neither of the two files seem to have their texture images apply properly. In both cases I would expect from the info in the tutorial videos that because there are two texture files there should be two poly groups for each mesh. But when I go to ungroup them ZBrush tells me that this is just a single mesh. And of course I can only apply one texture at a time and neither one goes on properly (ther are sections that are in the right spot, but the rest is scattered randomly). If this is a common behavior with incoming 123D Catch files coming into ZBrush I'll need to figure out a fix to the workflow in order for this to be useful for me.

The files are online here:

http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/arthurs/stump/

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

Dan



ETA:

I think the solution is here:

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqKFWzXGipE

Same behavior I am seeing. Haven't tried this yet, but I'll bet it'll work. This IS a pain, though - I hope Autodesk gets this fixed up in a hurry...

[pedrinalex]

thank you so much

[Jaxx]

Thanks Joseph! I looked at the PhotoFly website a while ago but kinda forgot about it - this gives me new incentive to go on with it