How to Convert Photos of an Object into a 3D Model

Creating 3D models often sounds like a highly advanced and complex process. That can be true depending on the level of detail you need, but if a basic model generated from a set of images is enough, the open source program Regard3D is an excellent starting point. Find the right photos (or do a quick session with your camera), load each frame into the program, and tweak its parameters until you get the best possible model.

If you decide to create 3D models the traditional path takes you to CAD, which opens the door to interesting practices like 3D printing custom objects. The alternative is to generate models using other sources, which affects the final result but is much simpler and faster. What kind of software can we adopt? Generally, programs that handle this task are very expensive, or have very limited free editions. However, Regard3D is different. All its advanced options are available from the start, and as if that weren't enough, its open source profile allows us to study the code closely.

Convert Photos of Objects into 3D Models with Regard3D

The download of Regard3D is relatively small compared to its features. At first glance, the interface doesn't say much, and all relevant documentation is online, but we're lucky to have an official Spanish tutorial. The conversion of photos into 3D models is divided into five parts: loading the image package, matching analysis, triangulation process, point cloud formation, and finally surface generation.

The time Regard3D takes depends on the resolution of the images, the values chosen earlier, and of course, the hardware. Want to see a couple of demos? Here you have Kermit (read as Kermit the frog), and at this link, the Castle of Sceaux.

The main drawback of Regard3D is that its technical restrictions are too broad to make it an interesting casual-use software. On one hand, we need several photographs of the object to process, not just one (the recommended average is about a dozen). On the other, the program requires that the focal length in each frame be known and recorded via EXIF. If you take your own photos, that's no problem, but if you only want to experiment, only a handful of online sets are truly compatible. The rest is a matter of reviewing the tutorial published on the official page and testing the huge number of parameters. Regard3D has been in development for over a year and a half, but reached version 1.0 last week. Download a copy and discover what you can do with this software.

Official site and download: Click here