Sunday, August 13th, 2017 Posted by Jim Thacker

Get Unity’s Photogrammetry Workflow ebook for free


Unity Technologies has released Photogrammetry Workflow: a free 96-page ebook setting out best practices when creating assets for game development and other real-time work using image-based modelling.

A best-practice guide to current photogrammetry workflow, covering a range of software
The ebook provides a step-by-step guide to the photogrammetry process, including staging a photo shoot, processing the raw images, reconstructing 3D geometry and textures, and generating a game-ready model.

Each section is written with specific tools in mind, including Autodesk’s ReCap for geomery reconstruction, and 3ds Max for converting the raw data to a low-res mesh, but many tips are applicable to other software.

The sections on texture work also cover a range of apps, including Knald, xNormal and Substance Designer for baking, and Photoshop or Unity’s own free de-lighting tool for removing lighting.

It also covers new online services like Artomatix for tiling maps.

It’s also fairly engine-agnostic: while the workflow is obviously geared towards producing Unity content like the demo scene shown above, much of the advice would also apply to Unreal Engine.

There are also good guides for capturing types of content that aren’t often discussed in general-purpose photogrammetry tutorials, including scanning ground surfaces and rock faces, and capturing vegetation.

Download Unity Technologies’ free Photogrammetry Workflow ebook