 Andreas Söderberg  3D-SCANNING PIPELINE FOR GAMES

To create an affordable pipeline to get real life objects into a game engine with some soft of scan method I also wanted to display these meshes in a small demonstration level PURPOSE

A playable level made in UDK with the scanned objects in it DELIVERABLES

 Start by setting the lights and taking the photos. Between 50 to 70 is enough for most objects.  Run all the steps that Photoscan need to create a mesh and a texture. Remove the unwanted geometry from the object and export as an OBJ file.  Load the OBJ file in Maya. Rotate the mesh right and adjust its size. Export as a new OBJ.  Import the OBJ file in Zbrush and load its texture. Subdivide the mesh and sculpt on it to enhance both things that goes into the mesh and things that points out from it. After that, run the Zremesher function. Export the low poly mesh as a new OBJ.  Open that OBJ file in Uvloayout, cut the UV parts and unfold them. Save the UV mapped mesh as a new OBJ.  In Xnormal, load both the high poly and the low poly objects, and also load the texture for the high poly. Bake the base texture, normals and ambient occlusion. The cavity map can enhance the texture a bit extra but it takes so long to bake that I stopped to bake it.  Load the base texture and the ambient occlusion maps in Photoshop and insert the AO as a new layer with the layer blending mode called multiply.  Load the unedited base texture in Crazybump and go to the specular tab. Load your low poly mesh in the previewer and adjust the parameters.  Load everything in Maya to make sure that it works. Adjust the pivot point if needed. Photoscan > Maya > Zbrush > Uvlayout > Xnormal > Photoshop > Crazybump FROM START TO FINISH

Lighting reflections smooth skin WHAT PROBLEMS DID I ENCOUNTER AND HOW DID I FIX THEM?

BAD LIGHTING AND COLOR CONTAMINATION THAT WAS EASILY RESOLVED.

WITH ADDED LIGHTING, A BLACK CLOTH AND A SCULPTURE TURNTABLE THESE PROBLEMS WERE RESOLVED.

POLARIZED FILTER, BEFORE AND AFTER. THE FILTER REMOVED ALMOST ALL REFLECTIONS.

THIS IS WHAT THE ORIGINAL SCAN LOOKED LIKE. HOLES IN THE MESH DUE TO THE SPECULAR REFLECTIONS AND THE THIN EDGES.

BEFORE AND EFTER THE USE OF A GRID AND A POLARIZED FILTER.

 Simple geometry that is fast to create in Maya, 3DS Max, Modo or whatever software one uses, like tables and chairs are good examples of things that is both faster and gives a better result to do by hand.  More organic things, that one would use Zbrush or Mudbox for, are generally easier to scan. WHAT TO SCAN AND WHAT TO BUILD

I ALSO HAD TO DIVIDE THE SCAN INTO THREE PARTS. FIRST THE CLOTHES, THEN THE HEAD AND LAST ONE OF THE ARMS.

POLARIZED FILTER AND GRID

THE RESULT OF THE THREE SCANS PUT TOGETHER IN ONE LOW POLY MESH.

I CHOSE TO PRESENT THE DATA THROUGH SIGNS THAT ARE POSITIONED IN THE CORNERS OF THE DEMONSTRATION LEVEL.

 Rougher materials are easier to scan. It it possible to create scans with really fine detail and crisp textures.  To be able to scan really smooth material some sort of painted or projected grid will help to find the forms.  Specular highlights on smooth materials can be avoided with the use of a polarized filter.  One-colored materials with hard tracked features can also be helped with some sort of grid. BETTER AND WORSE MATERIALS