3DVIA®

The best models uploaded to 3DVIA.com during the week of Saturday, May 2nd through Friday, May 8th are highlighted here. This is the 27th week of bringing models to our attention that we may have missed from that week. 024 and 025 are still in the works, they’ll just be out of order. That way you can all be as confused as I am.

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 – 026

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:

Flowers for my Love!! by abu-roadking is a fantastic model in so many ways. It impresses me most because he has included 3D modeling in his personal interactions, even as he reminds us all that we really should “Celebrate Love!!!”. The  composition, colors and textures are combined particularly well to make this a beautiful flower arrangement.

It is also impressive for the combination of his own modeling with flowers modeled in France and ferns from the US to make this a truly global bouquet! Great job using 3DVIA Shape 3.0! [abu-roadking is from India]

Another cool global thing about 3DVIA is that as I write this comment about his model, abu-roadking and I are having a conversation about something else through 3DVIA! This is definitely fun on a global scale.

Maxofp2p used Blender V2.46 to create Szko A as a school to use in a game he’s working on. The architectural detailing is very well done. [maxofp2p is from Poland]

MD 902 Explorer – Manchester Police Helicopter was created by smike using Google SketchUp. Great modeling, striking colors and if you notice – there is no tail rotor, so follow smike’s link and you may learn something new about helicopter technology – I sure did! [smike is from Denmark]

Ms Jennifer Walters was crafted by toymaker using Google SketchUp. The She-Hulk (” member of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Heroes For Hire, Defenders, Fantastic Force, and S.H.I.E.L.D. A highly skilled lawyer, she has served as legal counsel to various superheroes on numerous occasions. Her cousin is Bruce Banner, better known as The Incredible Hulk.”) would certainly get my attention and I would certainly hope that she was not angry with me. [toymaker is from the US]

GBU08 Cradles on HFR15m by recent Featured Artist alfredix modeled in Pro/E and then uploaded using the STEP format (be sure watch the recent video Cliff’s Clip on IGES and STEP options here on 3DVIA).

According to alfredix “These are 2 GBU-8 Bombs in cradles loaded on a 15ft Flatrack for transportation”. I believe him! I can’t even count all the different variety of aerial munitions that alfredix has made available for our modeling needs, but you can be sure that you’ll find something that meets the need! [alfredix is from Germany]

This beautifully detailed Fender Stratocaster was modeled by jesterv2. I’m definitely not a guitar expert, but even I know what a Strat is. Fender has been making them since 1954! [jesterv2 is from the Netherlands]

F-House Simmonot by Phong using Dassault Systemes V6 just makes me want to head to the airport right now and go someplace like this for about a month (or a year). There’s just enough detail to really tell the story and enough different textures and colors to make it interesting.

When I get to my holiday house in the sun (see above), I’ll definitely need several pairs of stylin’ shades like Radunepo’s Sunglass model! The subtle texturing, coloring and surfacing are what grabbed my attention. They were created using CATIA V5. [Radunepo is from Brazil]

Part1 is not the most exciting name for a sculpture, but you would be missing a lot if you didn’t spend some time rolling around inside and outside of Philippenez’s model. In fact, go check out all of his sculptures whenever you need a break and a chance to explore some fascinating surfaces and volumes. The texture on this sculpture is one of my absolute favorites! CATIA V5 is Philippeminez’s 3D creative tool. [Philippeminex is from France]

Model 223 Terminator Pistols were modeled by emag using Google SketchUp. He paid particular attention to accurately scaling and detailing both the pistols and the ammunition. The crate makes a great presentation prop. [emag is from the US]

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:

Aquarium was imagined and created by toymaker using Google SketchUp. Pretend you are a fish and get inside the aquarium to really enjoy the bright colors and the fish! [toymaker is from the US]

Biker Dog!!! by abu_roadking is a great combination of models from the 3DVIA Shape universe! Since abu-roadking is from India, many of us have to realize that everyone is on the correct side of the road in this model. The model and the comments that it generated are a lot of fun! [abu-roadking is still from India, even here at the end of my comment]

Organic Sculpture resulted from a class assignment that bledithesmart3 was working on. I like it because he has captured so much in a very elegant and intuitive way. Great work! [bledithesmart3 is from the US]

Flower Garden is another great model by tomy. He always makes me laugh out loud and I love the puzzles that he creates using 3DVIA Shape 3.0. Have you found the ants yet? [tomy is from Canada]

These Flowers were beautifully created using 3DVIA Shape 3.0 by gst99 and they are wonderful! They’ve already been used by other modelers to help them make even more wonderful models (see Flowers for my Love!! above). Excellent!

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.