3DVIA®

The best models uploaded to 3DVIA.com during the week of Saturday, April 18th through Friday, April 24th are highlighted here. With this Top 10 group, I have finally caught up with all of your great models! The Top 10 -029 is already in the works now, as I try to get back onto a regular schedule. Thank you for your patience (I hope) during this odd period!

Easy links to the previous Top 10 lists: 001 – 002 – 003 – 004 – 005 – 006 – 007 – 008 – 009 – 010 – 011 – 012 – 013 – 014 – 015 – 016 – 017 -018 – 019 – 020 – 021 – 022 – 023 – 024 – 026 – 027 – 028

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:

Using 3DVIA Shape 3.0 allowed SebastienF to create the parts and then assemble them into multiple versions of his  Concept Tablet PC F.

sady2 used Omind’s original Toy Squirrel model along with models from other 3DVIA modelers combined with lots of hard work to create all the members of his capable and dangerous-looking Team Squirrel 2. Check each of them out for a great chuckle and to appreciate sady2’s ingenious use of 3DVIA Shape 3.0. [sady2 is from Romania]

mynameisoscarjo took the bold step of including a driver in his Tillfixad Lamborghini Gallardo model. Having a driver makes the whole model more believable and is, in many ways, much harder than modeling objects. He did a great job using Blender V2.48. [mynameisoscarjo is from Sweden]

Butterfly Girl by somnath is a beautiful fantasy model that was created with great elegance, particularly in the wings. [somnath is from India]

I love this Loop of Death by toymaker. The title is just perfect and there are so many fun places outside and inside of this model to explore. The colors are also fantastic! toymaker used Google SketchUp. [toymaker is from the US]

This is just one of many airplanes by sletch2003. Albatros D.V has really great engine detail to go along with the difficult-to-model aircraft forms, guy wires and texturing. It looks like billybobsue uploaded a few of sletch2003’s models awhile ago, but if you search on the tag “sletch2003″, you can see them all.  [sletch2003 is from Belgium]

Future Car by vladvivlad is flat out my favorite 3DVIA Shape model on the site! He has the ability to anticipate an exhilarating future with an absolute blatant disregard for what is possible now. That is what imagination is all about!

Even though it is a future car, it also reminds me of the past, so I like it even more for the connections it makes with automotive history. The shape reminds me of the Bonneville lakesters that were built by hot rodders using surplus WWII aircraft belly tanks. The color scheme is also a reminder of the classic So Cal Speed Shop hot rods and their Bonneville Salt Flats race cars. Great job! [vladvivlad is from Moldova]

Any shop that repairs Batman Choppers (take a close look at the 2nd picture) is gonna’ get all of my business! Dragon Air Helicopter Repair Workshop by smike looks like just the right place! Great job smike, with even more excellent textures using Google SketchUp. [smike is from Denmark]

These images were taken using the Fresnel environment mapping shader to really let the E-Roadster Concept Car shine! marian used Google SketchUp to create this concept. [marian is from Romania]

Part 1 by Pieter_Degelin is an engaging sculpture that he created using CATIA V5. Turn on the Fresnel shader and get in there for some wonderful exploration. [Pieter_Degelin is from Belgium]

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

Honorable Mentions:

petergustmore didn’t give this model a name, so I just call it Babies. The pink cribs and busy babies make me smile every time! Peter used 3DVIA Shape 3.0 for this nursery scene.

Broken Glass by DPV1 was created using 3DVIA Shape 3.0 and is definitely great at telling this sad story. [DPV1 is from India]

Superhero BBQ by dwood007 makes me laugh out loud! The rest of the guests don’t stand a chance of getting anything to eat with the giant one around. It’s a great scene created using 3DVIA Shape 3.0.

I’m not sure what mahendra48 is going to do with Lazy Pattern, but I’m impressed by the variety and that they’re all in 3D. mahendra48 had some fun with CATIA V5 to model this one. [mahendra48 is from Indonesia]

Camping would be a lot more fun for the whole family if they used a Tent like the one modeled by Phil78_B using 3DVIA Shape 3.0. Great colors and tunnel! [Phil78_B is from France]

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. (PLEASE NOTE: In order to make it easier to explore, all photos are linked directly to the model’s page.)

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