3D Modelling Tutorial

Hi everyone, I’ve been meaning to post new articles to this website but have been distracted by PhD writing (hoping for a September hand in). However, given the current situation I thought that this would be a good occasion to organise a free online tutorial for 3D modelling. I regularly get contacted by readers asking […]

PART 1 – Visualisation

What is Visualisation and why is it important? What is the difference between Photogrammetry, Laser Scanning and 3D Reconstruction and how can you use this to your advantage?

Photogrammetric Recording of Subvertical Pits

Up to now in my blog I have been trying to outline the uses of Photogrammetry in the two main areas of archaeology, recording and interpretation. Some things I have discussed were specific to preserving as much data as possible of an archaeological feature or object, by creating a virtual copy of it. Other posts […]

Bigger And Better: Photogrammetry Of Buildings

Photogrammetry is definitely the “new” thing in archaeology, slowly clawing its way into how we treat and record archaeological sites. As far as its potentials go though, there is still a lot of research to be done, in order to assess the uses that this technology has, but also the limits that we will have […]

Recreating Tower Of London Graffiti Using Photogrammetry

Last weekend I visited the Tower of London, which gave me a great opportunity to try out some of the Photogrammetry ideas I have had in the past few weeks. Apart from testing 123D Catch out on large monuments and entire palace façades, I decided (thanks to the suggestion of Helene Murphy) to try modelling […]

Emphasising Inscriptions Using 123D Catch

One of the most interesting projects I have been working on over the past few months has been trying to emphasise inscriptions on artefacts using Photogrammetry. The theory is that if the model is accurate enough it should be possible for a program to determine the different bumps in a surface and exaggerate them in […]

VisualSFM: Pros and Cons

I’ve been working with Photogrammetry for some years now, and although I use a great variety of programs to edit the 3D models, from Mehslab to Blender, when it comes to the actual creation of the models I have only ever used 123D Catch. This is partially due to the fact I now feel very […]

Photogrammetric Model Made With Iphone 4s

I’ve experimented before with using my Iphone to create Photogrammetric models (not through the app, just taking the photos and running it through the Windows version of 123D Catch), with interesting but not perfect results. The other day however I found myself with a nice complete in situ sheep skeleton and no camera, so I […]

A Theoretical Approach to Photorealistic 3D Video: the Future of Film and Gaming?

Generally I am not a big fan of theoretical issues, especially when it comes to something as practical and visual as 3D modelling. This however is something I cannot really experiment with practically (or within an acceptable time frame), so for now it has to remain in the grounds of theory. It is also not […]

Textures in Photogrammetry: How They Can Deceive Us

One of the advantages I find in Photogrammetry is that unlike other methods such as laser scanning and regular 3D recording, the results are photorealistic. The models seem natural and precise due to the textures that are associated with the points, and aesthetically it is much more pleasing. In addition to this it is amazing […]