Reflection: 3D Modelling
Building my 3D model was definitely not a smooth process. However, I learned a lot of new things! At first, the alignment process did not work out at all. I had taken pictures from different angles all around the object, but the software (Metashape) did not recognise any sphere of photographs. I thought it could be due to my masks not being detailed enough. I decided to use a separate programme, Pixelmator, to mask my object in more detail and I filled the background with one uniform colour to create a sharp contrast (my object was largely dark in colour, so I decided to fill it with white). I also took some more photos, as the software perhaps needed more different angles to recognise similar pinpoints. After inserting these masked photos in Metashape, my photos finally aligned.
After creating my dense cloud, I was quite happy with my results but it was definitely not perfect: there was some ghosting, there were outliers and although the metal parts of my camera were matte, some areas looked very rough and bubbly (especially the bottom). I think the harsh light of the lightbox created too much reflection there. However, after cleaning up the outliers and using some tools selectively, such as the smoothing tool, I managed to create a relatively accurate model. When adding the texture, however, I discovered that there must be a (few) photo(s) that did not align in the right angle: you can see a part of the battery cap at the top of the camera.
The different stages of my 3D model in Metashape: Tie Points, Dense Cloud and Textured Model.
Some things that I would do differently the next time:
1) Choose and object with less tiny and/or reflective details: the shutter button, for example, was too reflective and did not turn out well. The metal parts did not turn out great either, despite being matte.
2) Use a lazy Susan: mine did not fit in my (very small) lightbox. Perhaps I could have avoided some outliers, ghosting and wrong alignment with a lazy Susan. Otherwise, I could use targets or markers the next time.
3) Double check my masks: I discovered afterwards that some masked photos still had tiny bits of background in it — perhaps this might have confused the programme a little bit.
Although I am not extremely satisfied with my model, I did enjoy the whole process of photogrammetry and 3D modelling. Seeing the results (after spending many, many hours behind my laptop) felt very rewarding and I feel like I learned a new and very fun skill!
A preview of my 3D model on Sketchfab!
Do you want to see how my 3D model turned out? Click here!