In Creating Digital Collections I, students created 3D models for a virtual time capsule collection using the software Agisoft Metashape. The object I chose to digitise was a brick. I was completely unfamiliar with Metashape, so although it was a steep learning curve, achieving a successful outcome was also very rewarding.
What could I have improved on?
Foresight: In my initial dataset, I used a lightbox and turntable to photograph the brick standing upright. While every step of the digitisation process ran smoothly, I had not photographed the base of the brick, so I needed to use the Close Holes tool to fill it in. I realised afterwards that a stubborn commitment to finishing the process is not always the most intelligent decision, especially when it’s clear from the beginning that the finished product will be imperfect.
Lighting: After extensive adjustments to delete extraneous points in the base, I eventually decided to re-photograph the brick and start again. I did this first with the brick standing on its base and then balanced upside-down, resting against a different object. By the time I reshot it, I was short on time and no longer had the lightbox, so my new dataset was quite poorly lit by lamps. If I were to improve on my process without a lightbox, I would have shot the object during the day beside a window.
What went well?
Problem-solving: The decision to reshoot was made in order to solve the problem of the base, but reshooting came with its own challenges. I separated my dataset into two chunks and tried to place markers as accurately as I could to help the software recognise and align common points. However, I was left with a strange second hemisphere of photographs beside the primary object. Fixing the alignment was a long trial-and-error process, but eventually, after deciding to remove the markers and deleting almost half of the object in each dense cloud, the merging was successful.
The final product! I’m very pleased with how much detail and texture is captured, and I’m so glad I decided to redo the process with my new dataset. Of course, getting to grips with new software will always come with obstacles, but overall, I think the uneven lighting is a small error in an otherwise successful outcome.
You can view it on Sketchfab here.