Image‑to‑3D Workflow Best Practices

From photo capture to production‑ready 3D assets — a step‑by‑step checklist for reliable results.

Capture & Shot Planning

  • Ensure even lighting, avoid harsh shadows or blown highlights.
  • Cover all angles: front, back, sides, top, bottom; include close‑ups of materials and decals.
  • Keep focal length consistent; avoid ultra‑wide distortion for product shots.

Pre‑processing & Backgrounds

  • Use solid, contrasting backgrounds when possible; remove busy backgrounds to reduce ambiguity.
  • Crop to subject and normalize exposure/white balance for consistency.

Material & Scale Hints

  • Annotate key materials (e.g., brushed aluminum, birch wood, matte plastic) to guide PBR generation.
  • Provide real‑world scale or reference object; specify units (cm/m).

Mesh Cleanup & UVs

  • Check for non‑manifold geometry, flipped normals, and loose vertices.
  • Create clean UVs; ensure texel density is consistent across parts.

PBR Texturing & Baking

  • Prefer metal/rough PBR; bake normals/occlusion for detail without excess geometry.
  • Keep texture sets logical (e.g., body/frame/panels) and resolutions appropriate (1k/2k/4k).

Export Formats & Settings

  • GLB/GLTF for web/AR; FBX for engines with animations; OBJ for simple static meshes.
  • Embed textures when possible; verify materials on import.

Engine & Web Integration

  • Unity/Unreal: validate scale, collision, and LODs; assign proper shaders.
  • Web: test in a GLTF viewer/Three.js; watch GPU memory and draw calls.

Quality Checks

  • Inspect seams, shading artifacts, and texture tiling; verify silhouette and proportions.
  • Test under different lighting and backgrounds to ensure robustness.

FAQ

How many photos do I need? For small products, 8–12 well‑lit angles often suffice; more for complex shapes.

Can I use smartphone photos? Yes — prioritize consistent lighting and steady framing.