3D Files for Studies

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Artists today are very blessed with the abundance of resources that are out there. Back in the old days there was no way a student could bring home a sculpture or go to places to study them. Most students that are just starting out won’t be able to afford Asaro’s Planes of the Head (for example). Now, they can easily access any (if it’s made available) and incorporate it into their studies right at home. I collect high quality 3d scans and files, and I have a lot in my collection. Some are no longer available and you’ll have to pay $ to have it, so I can’t post the files (that are no longer free) here.

There is a market for this because there are a lot you can do with a 3d scan or file.

1. You can print it out (3d printing). If a certain anatomical item is too expensive or hard to get, you can print it out and have it on your desk
2. You can use it as a base mesh for digital sculpting or modeling
3. You can trace on top of it as a 2d artist, or even as a 3d modeler (Retopologizing for example)
4. You can quickly setup 3d lighting for your 2d studies without the need to learn 3d modeling.

There are many creative ways to use a 3d file, and I can’t go through them here in this post. But these are the many reasons why people are protective of their 3d files. And it’s why something as simple as this Planes of the Head is sold online:

I bought the actual head and it costed me almost $200 where I live. But with a 3d file, you can get it for less than $20. I had a plan to convert the head I bought into a 3d file for artists that are just starting out, but luckily someone already got to it long before I thought about it, and you can get it for free here—yes FREE made available by Adam Fisher—us struggling artists can thank him for it: https://www.artstation.com/marketplace/p/Wrb61/asaro-planes-of-the-head (you need an artstation account to download the file). This is a very important head and you will want to add this to your collection. Just think of it as a substitute for actual anatomical items you would have on your desk.

Like I said, people want to protect their files, and some won’t sell it even if they could. In a situation like this you will need an internet connection to be at their site to view the file. This is where sketchfab and many others come in handy. However, I like to have things offline and so the purpose of this post is to share links to files that you can actually download to be used in MeshLab (https://www.meshlab.net) or Krita via a plugin such as Blender Layer. I’ll post links to sites if it’s of high quality such as this one:

Ecorche Reference Tool | Anatomy For Sculptors (all the details won’t show up immediately. you will have to let it load). I would like to purchase that and have it offline, but it looks like it’s not for sale. Museums also want to protect their files. You can read about it here: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/nefertit-bust-3d-scan-434609 . That was back in 2016. It’s 2023 now and many things have changed.

If you’re not into 3d then I suggest you look into MeshLab. Very easy to learn and operate and there are a few cool things you can do with it (YouTube it). If you want a lot of control, then Blender is the way. For quick viewing I use MeshLab. For in depth studies and setups, I would use Blender. For quick studies, just have MeshLab to one side and Krita to another. Like how I would with sketchfab:

Here’s a quick look at what you can do within MeshLab:

That’s a good basemesh for the head. You can download it here: Free Base Mesh Download . It’s a great mesh for studies because, in their own words, “Our base meshes are created by blending 50 face scans together for both male and female to create truly average head shape and a perfect starting point for any sculpt.” And it’s a clean mesh, all polygons!

With 3d scan files that are of high quality, you can zoom in and study. As seen below:

The more you observe sculptures and get used to seeing things in three dimensional, the more you will improve your 2d skill. This is why even if you’re not really into sculpting, doing sculpting just for fun either digitally or in real life, it will still help improve your 2d skill because of the muscle memory. If you slow down and observe the eye area carefully or even the mouth, these images will stick in your mind when you draw the head and you’ll be careful not to draw the eyes too far back or forward. Doing things from memory initially, for those just starting out, will often turn out very bad, anatomically speaking. With a 3d file, you can rotate to observe from any angle and start building good observational habits.

Anyway, that’s an introduction. I’ll sort through my collection later to pick some good ones, including the last one in this post, and post them here (links, not the actual files).

[TheScroll]

I haven’t forgotten this thread yet. Just busy with other things.

Saving Disk Space

Generally speaking, a 3d file of a model doesn’t take up much space but these days that is not the case. It can come with high resolution texture(s) and that can take up 300MB+ depending on the quality, and if it’s a sculpting done in ZBrush and exported, the polygon count can be in the millions. With 3d scan data, by default you’re dealing with very large files. If it’s just plain data with no texture or anything, I usually export and save them as .PLY format. This saves a lot of disk space. You can save even more by compressing it with 7z. Just to give you an idea:

The original scan data for this model is 130MB in .STL format. In .PLY format it’s only 49.4MB. Compressed that .PLY with 7z and it’s down to 28.1MB. Original file (.STL) compressed with 7z is only 59.8MB. In all my testings, .PLY + 7z saves a lot of disk spaces. A 1GB file can be cut in half, or even more, via .PLY + 7z. This is something to keep in mind if disk space is an issue. I use mostly MeshLab for conversion. If the 3d model has textures and other stuff that you want to preserve, then .PLY might not be an option. But if it’s just plain 3d data (scanned data for example) then .PLY is a good format to save disk space.

Blender can open .PLY files. For daily use, .PLY might be a bit inconvenient but for backup/archiving I use .PLY + 7z. What I would do is generate thumbnails for .PLY files and look through these thumbnails to see which 3d file I want to use or try out, then I pick the appropriate 7z file and unzip it as seen below.

Take Note of the Source and License

Earlier on I didn’t bother with saving the source. I thought to myself, “It’s free for commercial use. And I’m saving this for my own use, so why bother…” Well, it’s only after making this thread that I understand the importance of saving the source. Not just for a thread like this, but for future references. Take note of who you got it from and where. This makes it much easier to pass the file on later by sending the link straight to the source for others to download the file. I have a lot of good bash meshes but didn’t bother to save the source earlier on. Now if I were to share them here, I would have to put in the time to hunt down the sources (wasting valuable time)! Saving the source is easy. Here are three simple ways you can try out:

1. Click and drag the URL from your browser’s address bar and drop it into the same folder you save the 3d file.
2. Save the webpage as a single file and put it in the same folder as the 3d file.
3. Copy the URL as a text and place that into the filename of the file.

Having the source makes it easier to give proper credit later if need to.

Another thing to take into consideration is the License or rights. This requires that you create an additional file to save that info. For personal studies, most of the time you don’t have to worry, but do get into the habit of checking out the license/rights because your personal studies now might become serious artworks later. If you’re going to trace on top of 3d models, you want to be sure that the 3d model is free and allowed for commercial use. Anyway, I’m not an expert in this area.

Downloading 3d files is like downloading images from Google. This is something you need to keep in mind. Just because a 3d file is free to download on a legal site doesn’t mean you’re free to use it. You might come across one or two anonymous uploaders giving out the file(s) for free, without any info on how it was made or where it’s from. Someone with tech skill could have extracted it from sketchfab (for example). Recently I came across a model on cgtrader that I don’t believe should be up there, and yet the anonymous uploader is giving it out for free.

Here’s a great model. It’s free, but is it really free? Free for what purpose? I found this model on threeding dot com. This does not look like it was modeled by an amateur and not much info about rights.

What we should be looking for is something like this:

“All scans can be downloaded and used without copyright restrictions.” And there’s a good collection right here: https://threedscans.com

To be continued…

[TheScroll]

Quick post.

Don’t know when Blender Studio released this new bundle but I just checked and saw it. Normally stuff like this are sold online but now you have a good set of skulls and heads with CC0 license. There are also full bodies in the set.

Demo Files — blender.org

direct link: Thanks! — blender.org

[TheScroll]

“Two men looked out from prison bars,
One saw the mud, the other saw stars.”
―Dale Carnegie

With the internet, we have access to a lot of free resources and sometimes one artist sees things that another artist does not. Some artists keep things to themselves and they don’t expose their sources, in this sense I sometimes feel like a masked magician when writing posts like this one.

I have been contemplating on how to deliver this post. I thought to myself, “what if 3d Artists won’t showcase their models the way most are doing right now once they found out that 2d Artists like myself, instead of purchasing their model(s), are saving their 2d screenshots instead?” Then a voice came, “There are millions of artists out there. Surely, you can’t be the only one doing this. And sooner or later, someone will talk about this creative usage.” My concern is that 3d Artists might not showcase their model(s) in the way they’re currently doing once they become aware that 2d Artists are collecting their showcases for IDEAS and INSPIRATION instead of purchasing their stuff. 3d Artists on the other hand will have to purchase if they want to make use of it. 2d Artists only need the IDEA, concept or reference and their imagination can run wild. I have no control of the outcome, but here are a few fun predictions. But first, keep in mind that 3d Artists need to showcase their models so that buyers know the quality of what they’re purchasing. In showing buyers (3d Artists) their models through screenshots, it indirectly benefits 2d Artists. Just do a search for “kitbash” on 3d sites and you’ll understand.

1. 3d Artists might sell their 3d assets to 2d Artists in flat images for very cheap, allowing 2d Artists to use as references, trace on top or paintover. Sort of like how photo references are sold. “Warrior Photo Pack,” “Female Portrait Pack” for example. I might actually be giving ideas here.
2. 3d Artists might show only a few of the assets in great details, and the rest in low resolution (or whatever idea they come up with), forcing 2d Artists to buy their assets if they want to view it from many different angles.
3. Nothing happens.

It’s a lot more common today to hear artists online talk about using references than 15+ years ago. If you need a reference of something, search engine (images) is what most people would turn to but having access to a 3d file is the way of the future. If you don’t have access to the 3d file, then kitbash showcase is the next best option. This does not mean that the old fashion way of looking for photo reference is useless! Actual photo reference has its purpose and place, something we can talk about in future posts.

Need good references or ideas for cables and wires? Kitbash. Industrial elements? Kitbash. Wings, Legs, Arms? Kitbash.