3DVIA®

The best models uploaded to 3DVIA.com during the week of Saturday, January 10th through Friday, January 16th are highlighted here. This is the 11th post with the purpose of bringing models to your attention that we all may have missed during the week. (Yes, I’m a little behind due to a family emergency, but I’m gradually catching up – can’t miss all these great models!)

Easy links to the previous Top 10 lists: 001 – 002 – 003 – 004 – 005 – 006 – 007 – 008 – 009 – 010

Just so everyone knows, the order that the Top 10 are displayed is based on color, type of model and how I’m feeling, not any particular ranking. I just rearrange them until I like the way it looks. It’s as simple as that!

Be sure to check out the models that received Honorable Mentions too!

Our users live all over the world, so I include in my comments where each modeler is from. It’s great that language and distance are not barriers when we’re all sharing in 3D! (Modelers may choose not to share where they are from, so some countries of origin will remain a mystery.)

The Top 10:

It has already been a long winter with snow and ice aplenty. White flowers in pot 2 by imagine3D reminds that spring will be here – someday. Imagine3D used 3DVIA Shape and a lot of patience to create these complex flowers. Check out the model in wireframe or vertex mode to get a better idea of how it was built.  [ imagine3D is from France ]

Draco – The Blue Dragonlords Flagship is a visual treat from smike with lots of colors, shapes and textures to explore. It’s always worth reading smike’s descriptions to fully understand the scenario that the model is part of and why he made it. Smike uses Google SketchUp. [ smike is from Denmark ]

Breebos by ixion is a well done architectural study both inside and out. Take a good look around.

This great, detailed Apache24-12-03 is also by ixion, which I didn’t realize until I was putting in these notes. Two very different subjects and both very well done. You certainly wouldn’t want to find yourself in the lower left image staring into the eyes of the crew - Yikes!

Dog Fan by imagine just makes me laugh! It would be great to have a friendly helper to stay cool on those hot summer days coming up. Imagine used CATIA V5. [ imagine is from France ]

My “Only Honorable Mention” Office was modeled, updated, and upgraded by gsmith using 3DVIA Shape. The extra details (and, yes, the purple column) do make a big difference. [ gsmith is from the US ]

explorator by Necronom is an incredible model! The more you look, the more you see – especially because the translucsense encourages you to go deeper into the model. The image with the expanatory notes is from Necronom’s web site, which is another great place to explore. I’m glad to see the explorator model in 3D here on 3DVIA, so I can move all around it and understand it better than with just still images.

Florida HP (Florida Highway Patrol) is part of “a personal project, to create a highway patrol/ state trooper car from all fifty US states” on the Google Warehouse by MrTRL. Before a road trip we should all check it out to know what to look out for!  [ MrTRL is from the US ]

“This is the main character of CAPODA, a video/music short movie by Steren Giannini and Xavier Dorémus.
Check it here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khWXdkryBE4.” Be forewarned though – the video is cute, funny and a little gruesome too. CAPODA by Steren and Xavier was created using Blender and other free software programs. Again, it is great to have the opportunity to explore the 3D model here on 3DVIA and learn a bit more about how it was constructed.

Mater is mvcomputer’s version of a popular Pixar character in the movie Cars. Mater’s character is a “good ‘ol boy with a big heart”, which makes him easy to be with. mvcomputers uses 3ds Max. [ mvcomputers is from the US ]

Due to the continuous challenge of narrowing the number of great models uploaded each week down to just 10, I’ve included five Honorable Mentions to spotlight even more modelers!

Honorable Mentions:

This well done Dragon on Attack was created by smike using Google SketchUp. [ smike is from Denmark ]

Bobinos used 3DVIA Shape to make this football stadium (still in progress). [ Bobinos is from Belgium ]

Improved stargate was created by sady2 using 3DVIA Shape. [ sady2 is from Romania ]

Mikes new house ground floor is a nice example of using a 2D graphic as a basis for building a 3D model. siege103 used 3DVIA Shape. [ siege103 is from the UK ]

Early Valentine was modeled in SolidWorks 2005 by MoabUT. [ MoabUT is from the US ]

Here’s a brief recap of what I look for when I select the “Top 10″ and “Honorable Mentions”:

Variety – One of the most important factors. I try to show models created using lots of different software products and showing lots of different ways of using 3D. I include brief comments on why I chose each model.

Creativity, unusual subject matter and humor – These are big factors. We should all be having fun and feel free to model our passions!

Models must be uploaded by the original modeler – Many times I find models that I think will add to the community and will upload them with credit given to the modeler. These and other models that I can’t be reasonably sure who modeled them (for example – commercial models) are a welcome addition to the 3DVIA community, but the goal of the “Top 10″ is to encourage individual modelers and reward their special creativity.

Models entered in the 3DVIA Challenge contests will not be considered – They’re already getting plenty of attention and I want to spotlight models we may have missed.

There is no reward given – Other than the satisfaction of being noticed, spotlighted and being brought to the attention of more modelers. In my personal experience, the pleasure of having my work appreciated is the ultimate reward anyway.

Your comments are always welcomed and encouraged! Your responses will help the modelers and the 3DVIA community as a whole. Feel free to bring other models to my attention and let me know why they attracted you.

One final note of caution: these are my choices (dswavely) and my choices alone. So, aim the tomatoes appropriately.