3DVIA®

The best models uploaded to 3DVIA.com during the week of Saturday, July 11th through Friday, July 17th are highlighted here. It’s getting harder and harder to narrow it down to just the Top 10 and the 5 Honorable Mentions. Keep up the excellent work!

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 – 025 – 026 – 027 – 028 – 029 – 030 – 031 – 032 – 033 – 034 – 035 – 036

The Top 10:

Master story teller abu_roadking gives us another great reminder of what is really important with his Thanks For Your Time model created using 3DVIA Shape. [abu_roadking is from India]

Look inside the big box to find this excellent Droid creation by rigy20.

Cafe by jankee is a well-done example of the power of using 3D to plan and be able to walk through interior spaces. Google SketchUp was used.

Beach Sculpture by lingling is powerfully presented with human figures for scale and good use of terrain and textures. View her YouTube video to get an even better idea of the setting. [lingling is from Belgium]

If you only look at this model from the ground level, you’ll be missing the rest of the story…

Underground Logistic Center KPL by alfredix is so complete and complex that he had to do a lot of extra work removing detail for this to be viewable on 3DVIA.

Check out all of his models to actually understand the whole intricate concept. Alfredix models with Pro/E and then uses STEP translations to upload to 3DVIA. [alfredix is from Germany]

perecat1 has modeled another fantastic artistic interpretation of a future that he envisions. Towers (my name) was created using his amazing imagination and 3DVIA Shape. [perecat1 is from Spain]

Washburn Nuno Bettencourt N4 Snakeskin by sandman14 can give you the creeps if you don’t like snakes, but the texturing really makes this model sing. Even the back of the guitar is well-detailed using Google SketchUp.  [sandman14 is from the US]

I put Brabus C63 by JaViXP right above the following model to help illustrate the amazing results that Google SketchUp modelers can get with a lot of hard work. If you look at the really difficult transition surfaces (front and rear quarter-panels and the greenhouse to roof area) it is easy to see how hard it is in some modeling software compared to others.

This is meant as a compliment to JaViXP and his fellow modelers because they do such a great job with limited tools. This Brabus tuning of a Mercedes comes off exceptionally well!  [JaViXP is from Spain]

In comparison, Existentia Concept Car was created by car2ner using CATIA. His challenges are still significant (learning how to get the results he wants from such a powerful tool), but the results are so much smoother and graceful because the software is capable of finer control of the delicate surfaces.

He also has some very interesting form concepts from numerous automotive periods combined in this one model. It is a great example of being able to spend some time ”walking” all around a car in 3D and trying to figure out why you like one thing and maybe don’t like another line or form. Be sure to check out his fabulous renderings here! [car2ner is from Ukraine]

Don’t be fooled (like I was) into thinking that there is only one Scripton in this model by toymaker. That innocent looking pen on the table is Scripton’s evil twin!

What a great job of using imagination, fantastic detail and Google SketchUp. [toymaker is from the US]

Honorable Mentions:

This truly creative Fantasy Exotic Guitar was created by XQH_XXX using 3DVIA Shape and images of an existing guitar. [XQH_XXX is from India]

The shape, arrangement and texturing on the leaves in this Flower model by shodig38 is beautiful. 3DVIA Shape was used to create it. [shodig38 is from Indonesia]

Stinky Cheese Man by ilovegoodcheese was created using Blender and helps bring the wacky world of Jon Scieszka to more people. Kids AND adults love his stories and illustrations. (We have several on our bookshelves at home.)  [ilovegoodcheese is from the US]

Office Water Purifier was created by XQH_XXX using 3DVIA Shape to help plan his future office floor plan.   [XQH_XXX is from India]

Tottenham Ready by design365 is a wonderful example of how 3D models can help in planning large area usage as well as interior spaces.

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!

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 modelour 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.