3D Hand Model

Modeling of the 3d hand models takes great attention to detail as the hands are one of the most complex body parts. The hands can dramatically change shape with each posture and can perform a wide range of complex movements in a short time.

3d models that are used for still renders tend to be less complex than the ones used in animations or for virtual worlds. The 3d hand models used for animations typically need a specific range of motion.

However, the ones used for virtual worlds are used to interact with the 3D world and a wide range of motion is needed. Also, a more personalized and realistic look is often desired. Therefore, different approaches should be used for modeling for still renders, animations, and virtual worlds.

Mesh of a 3D Hand Model

Using proportions can give you less complex models that can be used for still renders and presentations. However, this approach may not be desirable when looking for very realistic and personalized human hands. See examples of stock 3d hand models.

The first approach is to use the proportions of the human body to size the hand. The length of the hand (from the wrist to the middle finger) should be roughly the length of the inner forearm. The male hands should be longer and wider than female hands. The hand of an adult male is about 189mm long and about 84mm wide, while the female hand is 172mm long and about 74mm wide. Also, the fingers should not be perfectly straight, instead they should have a tendency to curve slightly towards the middle finger.

The second approach is to use approximation to establish the right proportions. When using approximation techniques, the proportions are estimated using the existing features of the hand anatomy. For example, the creases of the palm, hand countours, and the wrinkles on the back of the finger knuckles typically mark the areas where the skin is attached to the tendon beneath the skin.

Realistic Hand 3D Model Showing the Mesh

Other techniques involve generating a series of hand postures from real human hands, which yield hand movements and gestures that are very realistic. For this technique the hand 3d models are made up of both a dynamic and a surface model. The dynamic model is used to generate the hand postures. The surface model is based on 3D shape of a real human hand. This surface model is used to generate the hand shape based on the posture obtained from the dynamic model.

Motion capture and analysis is used to capture and process the hand movements. This can yield very realistic and accurate movements of the human hand. For example, for an animation of a hand making a fist, the 3d hand model fingers would need to curl in a spiral and not a circle. To achieve this, the movement of the joints of a real human (and their relative position in space) would be captured and recorded. Then this recorded movement would be assigned to the fingers so that they curl in a spiral making a fist.

Regardless of the approach you use, modeling of the human hand is complex and requires great attention to the shape, gestures, and movement of the hand.

Modeling of People requires great attention to detail and significant amount of time. You can avoid missing your deadline by communicating clearly with your clients, setting expectations, and cutting down time and costs by using stock 3d models of people and characters.

In today’s fast paced environment we all know that it is very important to meet your 3D project deadlines. However, clients are demanding more for less and technology is constantly changing the game, so what can we do to ensure that we and our team meet our deadlines without burning midnight oil or sacrificing our weekends? Below find some tips that can help you and your team avoid missing your deadlines and be more productive.

Make sure that your team knows why meeting your deadline on time every time is important.

Discuss with your team and clients the link between the speed to finish the 3D modeling project versus the profit/rewards. Also share these rewards with your team.
Also, show the urgency to finish ahead of time by taking the necessary actions and making smart decisions. Therefore, when the team needs a decision from you, don’t sit on that decision!

Get involved early in the 3D modeling process.

Getting involved early allows you and your team to better understand the needs upfront, plan and adapt to the changing needs of the project. Also, you will be able to influence the direction and the outcome much easier than if you try to make changes later.

Delegate the necessary authority to your team early so you can get faster decision making.

After setting clear goals, move quickly to execution. If you are managing a 3D team, then step out of the way and let your team make faster decisions. Also, allow them to take responsibility for finishing on time.

Maintain constant communication with your clients and your team.

Your presence and constant communication will send strong and positive signals to your clients and your team.

You don’t need to spend too much time, what is important is the frequency of your communication and meetings. This will allow you to be informed about the progress and detect problems when they are small and easy to solve.

Develop relationships with your suppliers of 3D and related services.

Start developing these relationships early, as this will make it easier for you and your team to work together and successfully outsource your 3D needs. When you spend time building these relationships, you will have time to know their capabilities and they will have time to understand what you are looking for.

For example, don’t wait until the day before your deadline to start outsourcing your 3D modeling as it will not only cost you more but also there might not be enough time to communicate or render the 3d model exactly how you want it.

Also, having a relationship with your suppliers of 3D and related services can save you time, especially when you are looking for stock 3D Models or requesting custom 3D.

Palm Tree 3D Model with High Resolution Textures

Palm trees give your landscapes, city streets, office environments, and gardens a refreshing tropical feel. This makes 3d models of palm trees one of the most popular ornamental plant 3d models used by 3d modeling artists  for landscapes in architectural scenes, still renders, city scenes, and 3d visualizations.

There are many types of palm tree 3d models that you can use  in your 3d landscape. However, the best ones are the palm trees that actually grow in your landscape’s climate. When you choose 3d models of palm trees that grow in your landscape’s climate, your city scenes look more realistic and believable.

How do you choose the right palm tree 3d model for your landscape?

To select the appropriate palm tree,  let’s first take a look at what sets palm trees apart from other trees.

Most palm trees have large, compound leaves located at the top of a stem and the stem does not have branches. They grow in tropical and subtropical regions and do not tolerate severe cold weather.

Therefore, the first step in selecting your palm tree 3d model is to determine whether your landscape’s climate is tropical or subtropical.

If your climate is not tropical or subtropical,  then only use palm trees as indoor plants for interior scenes or  botanical gardens.

The next step is to search for and select the types of palm trees that grow in your landscape’s climate.  For example, if you are 3d modeling a casino in Las Vegas, then need you would choose a desert palm tree, such as the True Date Palm Tree,  for the landscape.  The True Date Palm tree is well suited for very hot and dry climates like the desert. It also likes full sunlight and grows very tall to about 50 feet. The True Date Palm is typically used for landscaping in upscale developments, such as commercial structures, malls, hotels, etc.

See below a list of popular palm trees grown in the Southern U.S. and further North.

• Mediterranean (European) Fan Palm
• California Fan Palm
• True Date Palm
• Queen Palm
• Canary Island Date Palm
• Texas Sabal Palm
• Windmill Palm
• Pindo Palm
• Sago Palms
• Mexican Fan Palm

Once you know what type of palm trees you need, simply get the stock 3d models of the palm trees. It is important that you choose stock 3d models that are low polygon, since you might be using them several tree 3d models in your landscape.

Now that your palm tree 3d models are ready, it’s time to place them in your scene.  These are several things you want to consider when placing the palm trees in your scene.  For example, palm trees that can’t withstand direct light must be grouped together with other trees and shrubs to protect them from sunlight. Also, palm trees that are in colder environments should be grouped together with other trees to protect them from the cold wind.

Palm trees not only have ornamental value but they have great economic importance as many products are derived from palm trees including coconut products, oils, dates, palm syrup, ivory nuts, carnauba wax, rattan cane, raffia and palm wood.

As you can see, it is very important to select  the right type of  palm tree to use in your 3d landscape. It is also important to know how to place them together with other plants in your scene.

There are many stock tree 3d models available that your can use to make your architectural landscapes, still renders, and visualizations look more realistic. Ultimately, this variety of palm tree 3d models enables you to choose one that is most appropriate for your architectural landscapes, city scenes, still renders, and 3d visualizations.

Michael Jackson 3D Model

As you all know the greatest entertainer ever – Michael Jackson suddenly passed away at the young age of 50 years in his rented home in Los Angeles.

While we were shocked like everyone else on hearing the news, we took it a little harder since we had actually been working on a custom 3D model job for Michael Jackson’s upcoming show in the UK, when we learnt that he had passed.

While the world mourns the passing of this legendary artist – Michael Jackson the “King of Pop” we here at Flat Pyramid pay tribute to him and his legacy by offering a Michael Jackson 3D model in his memory through one of our top 3D modeler – Yasmeen Jahan.

Even though we are in the 3D modeling business and not in the music industry and a 3d model artist is different from a musical artist, we are all still artists and share a similar passion for creativity.  Here at Flat Pyramid 3D marketplace, our motto and goal is to allow artist Spend More Time Being Creative while we take care of promoting and distributing your 3D models and 3d products for you.

3D Model of Michael Jackson

We encourage all you 3D artists that are good with character modeling to create all sorts of 3D Michael Jackson models in his memory.  We will feature all of them in our newsletter, on our blog and send them to his people to use however they choose in his memory.

Regardless of what kind of artists (3D artist, Musical artist, 2D artist, etc) you are, and no matter where you are located in the world, we know that our work always out lives us so spend more time being creative.  Like Michael Jackson’s art, your 3D models might live forever.

From one type of artist to another,

we all wish that Michael Jackson rest in peace.

3D City Model of urban scene in blender 3ds lwo obj xsi

Imagine that your pitch was successful and now your clients want your animation in a futuristic city scene. You are an expert in animation…but not in 3d modeling and cities are known to take weeks to do!

The animation you used for the pitch took you 2 weeks and they now want a more complicated one in a week…HALF THE TIME AND MORE TO DO.

You could customize a stock 3d city scene to look futuristic or outsource it. This project has a tight deadline and you are not an expert in customizing 3d city models fast…and outsourcing could allow you to focus on the animation.

Sound familiar? Outsourcing 3d modeling and rendering or doing it in-house is a common dilemma 3D artists and animation studios face, especially when rushing to get 3d projects done.

When it is a good time to outsource your 3d?  A rule of thumb from one of our clients is that

“If someone can make it in half the time I can…then its time to hand it off. My time is just too valuable.”

Typically, clients outsource 3d modeling and rendering when the 3d model, such as a 3d city scene, can be done or customized much more efficiently by custom 3D services such as Flat Pyramid Custom 3D.

New York City Downtown Scene 3D Model in max obj

What could take weeks to do can take expert 3d modelers that specialize in 3d cities just days. So you get less frustration, quicker turn around, and higher quality results, which are worth spending money on.

Below are tips to help you know when outsourcing can work for you:

• You run into something you don’t really well and it is not part of your core skills. Also it will take time to learn it and become efficient at it.
• You have too many 3D projects stuck in the pipeline and budget constraints prevent you from taking on more 3d artists on staff.
• The 3D projects go in cycles, sometimes you need more people, sometimes less, and you want to avoid downsizing.
• The 3D project is a one-time project.
• You need to reduce costs to be able to be more competitive when you are bidding for 3D projects.
• It is more productive and profitable for you to let expert custom 3D services handle it.

Also, when you outsource 3d modeling you increase your profits, since you save more than half of the 3D project costs mainly because you save in labor costs. Outsourcing experts agree that having someone else do the areas that are not your expertise enables you to do more and you can leverage lower labor costs and increase your profit.

Realize you can’t do it all and you must find ways to speed up your 3d development cycle and get 3d projects to your clients quicker and cheaper than the competition – or face losing clients.

When you have decided that its best for you to outsource, consider using the expertise of Flat Pyramid artists with a wide range of experience in custom 3D modeling and Rendering, see more custom 3d tips.

Beautiful 3D face models are very often used by advertising agencies, special effects and other production studios in animations, advertisements and special effects.

3D Model of Female Face with hair, highly realistic

The 3d face models that are used are graphical representations of very beautiful faces with very attractive features. Whether the 3D face models is being used to to represent realistic humans or 3d characters, the 3d model must be beautiful.

In many cases, the attractiveness of the 3d face models is a big requirement as beautiful people do “attract” our attention more than unattractive people.

So how do you adjust a 3d human face so that it’s beautiful?

There are certain characteristics that make people beautiful, like certain shape of the eyes, full lips, high cheekbones, etc.  First start by adjusting the 3d face model so that it follows the general human proportions.  Then, you further adjust the 3d face model using the list of characteristics below to give your 3d model a beautiful human face.

What makes the human face beautiful to someone is not universal, the culture and time in history also matters. However, as an overall guideline, beautiful faces are always very symmetrical and look healthy.

Below find what you can do to adjust your 3d human faces to make them more attractive.

How To Make Female 3d Face Models More Attractive

3D Model Face of Brazilian Supermodel Adrianna Lima

Here the assumption is that you are starting with an unattractive female face and want to make it more attractive.

• Face: Make the overall face narrower and with less or no fat around the cheeks and chin areas.
• Eyes: Increase the distance between the eyes (slightly).  Also give the eyelids thinner look and the eyelashes fuller, longer and dark.
• Eyebrows: Make the eyebrows darker and narrower and give them an arc shape.
• Cheek bones: Raise the cheek bones higher.
• Lips: Make the lips full and symmetrical (top and bottom).
• Nose: Give the nose a more narrow profile.
• Skin: Use a suntanned skin tone that is even.

Also a very good reference to use are celebrities or 3d models of celebrities. For female celebrities use all time gorgeous celebrities including like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Lena Horne, Sophia Loren, Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Diana Ross, Brigitte Bardot, Natalie Wood, Raquel Welch, Princess Diana, Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson, etc.

No wonder makeup artists try to recreate these characteristics of attractive people and celebrities all the time.  Now let’s take a look at attractive faces for males.

How To Make  Male 3d Face Models More Attractive

3D Head of an attractive male hero

Here the assumption is that you are starting with an unattractive male face and want to make it more attractive.

• Face: Make the overall face narrower, but the upper half should be broader in relation to the lower half of the face.   Also the face should have less or no fat around the cheeks and chin areas.
• Chin: Make the lower jaw and chin more prominent.
• Eyes: Give the eyelids thinner look and the eyelashes fuller, longer and dark.
• Eyebrows: Make the eyebrows darker and full.
• Lips: Give the lips a bit more fuller look and make sure that they are symmetrical (top and bottom).
• Cheek bones: Raise the cheek bones higher.
• Skin: Use a suntanned skin tone that is more brown but even.

Notice that beautiful human male faces share some of the characteristics with beautiful human female faces.

See more examples of stock and customized 3D Face Models that have been adjusted to look beautiful and still follow the basic human proportions of  high quality 3d human models.

3D Female Woman Model, highly realistic, render-ready and ready for animation

3D modeling and animation of people and characters requires specialized skills and knowledge. Below find some tips that can help you create and/or get human 3d models that look realistic and have right human proportion.

3d character models require great attention to detail to achieve the right proportions, locomotion, and facial expressions that will allow the human model to convey human emotions, speech, and movement.

3D Modelers that specialize in 3d human models analyze human proportion to create an accurate representation of the figure and movement of the human body. They also take into consideration the color of human hair and skin. Human skin has a wide range of hues including very dark brown up to very pale pink. Human hair color is typically blond, brown, red, black, and gray.

3D Modeling of the Human Body

3d modeling the human body requires attention to detail to achieve the right proportion. The average height of an adult human is 1.5 to 1.8 m (5 to 6 feet) tall. To achieve a very realistic looking and accurate model of the human male or female, 3d modelers use heads instead of meters or inches as follows:

3d Woman Female Realistic Model

• The human figure is an average of 7 to 7 1/2 heads high(including the head).
• Width from shoulder to shoulder: 3 heads wide
• Distance from top of head to the bottom of chest: 2 heads
• Distance from wrist to the end of fingers of the hand: 1 head
• Distance from elbow to the end of fingers: 2 heads
• Distance from hip to the toes: 4 heads
• Length from top to bottom of buttocks: 1 head

Human body types vary substantially and depending on the type of human 3d model, these proportions are adjusted by the 3d modelers and refined by animators.

For example, ideal 3d female models with long legs and arms are typically 8 heads tall. Male hero 3d models have big chests and long legs and are typically 8 1/2 heads tall.

3D Female Head Woman highly realistic 3d model

3D Modelers and Animators also analyze human movement in order to prepare the 3d human model for further processing including rigging and animation.

3D Face Models

3D face models of humans are animated using the lips, brows, and frown lines to create human expressions that convey certain emotions. The audio is synchronized with the mouth, eyes and brows.

To convey the right emotions, animators analyze the human body’s structures and movements. They also study facial expressions and human emotions.

The human emotions are typically captured and reproduced using the expressive face of a 3d model.

3d modeling the human faces also requires great attention to detail to achieve the right proportion.

Below are some typical proportions that 3d modelers use to create 3d face models. When the 3d face model needs to be attractive, special characteristics common to beautiful people should be used, see how to make 3d face models beautiful and attractive.

Facial Animation of 3d Female model

• The eyes are halfway between the top of the head and chin.
• The bottom of the nose is halfway between the eyes and chin.
• The mouth is halfway between the nose and chin.
• The corners of the mouth line up with the centers of the eyes.
• The top of ears line up above the eyes, on the eyebrows.
• The bottom of ears line up with the bottom of the nose.
• Eyes are typically centered halfway between the top of the head and the chin

3D Modeling of the human body requires the expertise of highly qualified artists that specialize in this area. Use stock and/or customized 3d models from highly qualified artists to cut down your production costs, see 3d human models.

Mega Oil Gas Refinery 3D Model highly detailed industrial structure

Industrial Oil refinery 3d models are used to represent large industrial complexes specialize in processing and refining oil into more useful petroleum products. Oil refinery 3d models are often used to visualize refineries before they are built or when planning for construction and/or remodeling. Oil refineries have extensive piping running throughout it grounds. These pipes transport the fluids and by-products to their large chemical processing units.

An oil refinery processes crude oil and  then refines into petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, asphalt base, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas.

Refinery 3d models are typically used in scenes to represent these large industrial structures. The entire refinery can comprise of several structure or units.

Each section or portion of the refinery performs a specific function including the actual processing  of distillates (gasoline, kerosene, diesel, fuel oil, lubrication oils, asphalt etc), processing of steam and cooling water, power generation, transport, etc.

Industrial Factory Refinery 3D Model with piping and mechanical equipment

Oil refinery 3d model scenes typically show the refinery complex structures including the building structures, mechanical equipment, piping, cooling towers, generators, chemical equipment, etc. The scenes can also include the surrounding environment which typically comprises of a nearby river or sea shore and an oil ocean platform if the oil is drilled  from the ocean. The 3d refinery renders can also show the terrain and surrounding structures that provide access to transportation.

Refineries are located away from residential areas so its surroundings are industrial but with easy access to obtain and provide raw materials.

Some refinery 3d models include transport of crude oil by pipelines while others include other means of transportation including rail cars, road tankers or barges.

Oil refineries can be co-located or near other petrochemical  and manufacturing plants to allow easy access to large output refinery products for further processing. They can also be located near industrial plants that provide the refinery the chemical additives to blend. See more stock and custom industrial and refinery 3d models.

Desert Oil Refinery 3D Model Installation

Old Rusty Factory 3D Model meticulously modeled with very high detail

Urban Architectural Design using 3D Models, Aerial

Architectural renderings, visualizations and animations use 3d models to represent residential and commercial interiors and exteriors for marketing and design analysis purposes.

Architectural visualizations enable clients and target audiences to see the finished building and/or interiors before the approval and construction of a residential or commercial building.

Architectural renderings, visualizations and animations play major role in the design and the sale of real estate. Design changes and related decisions are facilitated by using architecture 3d models, which are used to create architectural renderings and visualizations that can be shown to the clients before the building or property.

3D Modeling of architectural renderings requires specific expertise not only in rendering but in architectural design as well.  The architectural 3D models used to create the renders must be modeled with the right proportion, scale, and level of detail. Also real life textures, materials, color and finishes must be used to achieve the photo realistic look of high quality 3D architecture renderings.

Architectural renderings are specific to their particular use and there are many types including: still renderings, 3d photo-realistic renderings, virtual tours, panoramic renderings, walk-through animations, fly-by animations, 3D floor plans, light and shadow study renderings, renovation renderings, etc. Each type of architectural rendering will first start as a group of 3d models arranged together to create the architectural scene.

Architectural renderings are still renders of  these scenes and the landscape and they include the building or structure and surrounding environment such as the trees, grass, people, cars, etc.

Architectural renderings can be created from sketches or from CAD files. 3D models can also be inserted into an actual photograph of the lot or environment to create an architectural rendering with a photo environment.

Virtual tours are very popular in residential as well as commercial real estate sales. Virtual tours allow navigation throughout the entire 3D architectural scene. When going through a virtual tour  that was created using 3d models, one can go from room to room and explore every aspect before beginning construction.

3D floor plans are done in three dimension to provide a very accurate layout of the interiors of a home or building, as one can see the rooms for each level and the rooms are typically furnished.

Panoramic renderings are high end architectural visualizations and they are done to provide a wider view of the architectural scene.  They can be done on the interior as well as the exterior of the building. They are also done so that the client gets a 360 degree view of the architecture of a building.

Architectural animations are short architectural movies. To create the animation a series of still 3D rendered images are put together to form the movie.

3D Models are used in each of the 3d scenes  in the movie. An architectural animations can have fly-over camera views and walk-through views of the building.

Architectural animations are often created with the landscaping and surrounding environment to give the them are more realistic feel.

There are many types of architecture 3d models that are used in architectural renderings including scenes, interiors, exteriors, buildings, plants, furniture, etc.