Off topic question, but has anyone seen any articles or discussions related to the legality of scanning. Like, when you scan a toy or something real, who owns that geometry? Like what legal realms governs likeness geometry? What stops a person from scanning toys and sculptures, changing them a bit and then putting them in games or other works as your own? I’m just asking because I want to be informed about it.
On the clean side of the coin, I think this is fantastic tech. I can’t wait to start seeing real media sculptors breaking into the 3d world seamlessly. This is like a whole new generation of tech, 3d wise. I’m just amazed. I keep thinking of al the people who sculpt in clay for companies like mcfarlane toys, and all the companies that create the really elaborate resin statues for specialty shops and such. Its like the gap between whats digital and whats real is disappearing. Mix in 3d printing and such, a real statue or object might have no fundamental difference from a digital one soon.
Thanks rombout! I think you might be thinking of Photofly, which was bought by Autodesk and is now 123d Catch. PhotoScan is created by Agisoft; I just checked their website, and it looks like they have versions for Windows, Mac and Linux! http://www.agisoft.com/downloads/installer/
Apologies, distance880! I must not have noticed there was a second page when I was replying yesterday!
You have a very good question, and it’s one I was actually thinking about myself when I was scanning the MacFarlane figures; legally, am I allowed to do this? Certainly, this was only for free demonstration/educational purposes, so I don’t think there would be much issue, but what if I wanted to use them in a show, or sell them as my own figures as you mentioned? I would imagine that whatever laws exist currently to protect intellectual property and copyright could be applied.
That being said, I don’t think it’s cause for concern in many cases. If you’re only creating things for personal use, I wouldn’t worry. Even if you are creating things as selling them, it might not be an issue- Turbosquid, for example, has hundreds or thousands of models that are owned or protected in one way or another (Ironman, Batman, the Eiffel Tower, Grave Digger monster truck, etc). For those items, they state:
“Editorial Uses Only
The intellectual property depicted in this model is not affiliated with or endorsed by the original rights holders and must be used under editorial use restrictions.”
So that’s how Turbosquid handles it, and they’re a fairly well known company. I would imagine the laws vary based on what country you’re in.
And you’re also right about the coolness of the many uses of scanning. When you mentioned the similarities of digital sculpting to traditional sculpting in relation to creating real figures (whether through 3D printing or traditional casting), it reminded me of this: http://industriamechanika.com/shop/home/43-adrian-majkrzaks-black-moth-heavy.html
A really cool model you can buy, created entirely in a computer before transitioning into the physical world!
Wow, thanks for this James. Awesome results with your turntable rig and some very valuable tips on your videos. A fellow Agisoft user here
I actually made my thesis about photogrammetry a couple years back. I focused on the basic principles, and tried experimenting with the low-cost end of rigs, comparing the possible results with increasingly simple setups (mainly with scanning faces of people). I tried multi-camera setups with a mix of DSLR’s, single-camera rigs with DSLR’s, point-and-shoots and even webcams and some tests with a smartphone camera. Frankly, my results weren’t nearly as good as yours, mostly because I started with too complicated subjects with very sub-optimal lighting and turntable setups. I was really pushing the limits of the technology, you could say - which was kind of one of my goals to see how simple and low-quality you can go while still getting some kind of results.
Anyway, I haven’t touched the subject for almost a couple years. Seeing this makes me really, really want to try my hand at scanning stuff again. This time I’d like to invest a bit more to it - I might have to get myself a couple softboxes and a proper turntable.
Thanks again for these awesome and inspiring results!
reynante - Thank you! I have another short film I’m wrapping up for my channel this week, as well as more PhotoScan guides coming soon.
Irratium - Hello! I’m glad to hear my video inspired you! Yes, Photogrammetry applications have come a long way in recent years. I remember the first one I ever tried- It could only process a handful of images, and spat out an awful mesh even with very simple objects. Now there are multiple options for 3D scanning, and PhotoScan is very popular because of it’s capability, as well as it’s very low price. I have two more video guides I’m working on: one for environment scanning and one for head/body scanning. The first should be out sometime in February, and the second hopefully soon after. There is still testing to be done, as I want to explore new techniques for fast and cheap image acquisition.
Looks like you have a lot of new stuff on your plate James. Look forward to seeing where you go on the videos. Don’t forget about the most bankable actor at classy dogs … Mary
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and plans, James. It was very interesting to hear, how you want to continue. As others said you really have a lot of stuff going on. I wish you loads of fun while you do these projects
noh - Thank you, I liked the beard, too. Unfortunately, I was told I had to shave it or move out, so I will have to wait until I’m financially independent to grow it again. One day!
harley - Thank you! Yes, I want to get Mary in another video soon, too. She’s very busy with school and two jobs, but hopefully within a few months she’ll be able to be in another video!
Jose - Thank you! I hadn’t planned the beginning of the video, but had some of the props laying around for the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” video and thought it would make a good intro.
minoribus - Thanks! It is certainly a lot going on, but I don’t feel too overwhelmed. Maybe I’m just getting used to it. I’m also working with suboptimal on a video I didn’t mention- he is helping to design a creature for a film I’m hoping will be released later this year. Oh, and there will be a third and final video in my “Rigid Body Physics” series coming this year (which most likely no one realizes is a series), which I’ll be holding a contest for. The winners will receive some free rendering from a very well known and well established render service. I’ll share more info about that as time draws closer to it.
Guys! How did you get Agisoft run.
For me is not working at all. I have a great Camera. The light is setup correctly, etc… and Im just getting particles from Agisoft and the shots I made.
Im using the turn-object technique and this method doesnt work for me at all.
Could you please upload a video or a small tutorial how to get Agisoft work properly?
