Gabriela Linhares Da Silva is a fantastic reality capture specialist. Using only her phone, she creates outstanding 3D scans of everyday objects. In the interview, she describes her photogrammetry techniques, and offers meaningful insights for fellow artists.
Hi Gabriela, would you please tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m 32 years old, and I’m from the south of Brazil. I was born on a small island called Florianópolis, where I still live today. I have a master's degree in architecture, and since my graduation, I have been specializing in 3D modeling and reality capture techniques.
I currently work as a 3D generalist in a post-production company, but I also work in my free time as a 3D modeler and reality capture specialist. I love recording tutorials for my YouTube channel to help people that don’t know much about photogrammetry. Additionally, I do some architectural models based on reality data (point clouds that I generate myself with a drone) for games, architectural firms, 3D printing, and anyone who needs an accurate model.
As a generalist, I have been working on all kinds of projects, such as procedural crowds with geometry nodes, realistic environments and simulations. By now, I’ve used almost all of Blender’s tools. My true passion though is creating realistic assets and scenes, and that’s what I want to focus on.
You have uploaded to BlenderKit many exceptional 3D scans. How would you describe your work process?
I love scanning things with photogrammetry. I started with historical buildings, but these days I scan everything that would make a good asset or texture. Often people ask me how do I achieve such great results or which fancy expensive tools I use. But the secret is knowing how to take good photos. If you take the pictures correctly, you can generate an amazing 3D photorealistic asset easily. If you don’t, no miracle can save you.
I always try to scan my assets in a place with neutral light, or on cloudy days. It’s important not to have light spots on the pictures. This ensures a uniform texture. Also, it’s very important to have a good overlap between images, something like 60% to 80% overlap, so the photogrammetry software can do its magic.
With each scan, I make sure to take photos from different angles, some close-ups of the object to capture the details for the texture, and some long shots to capture the geometry properly. It is useful to mix photos from different equipment, like drones and smartphones. Since photography equipment is very expensive in Brazil, I managed to learn techniques to achieve good results with nothing more than my phone.
Honestly, my main tip would be to run tests. When I just started with photogrammetry I got some really weird results. I would try to understand why and how to solve the problems. That’s how you learn the logic behind the technique.
How do you decide what to scan?
Sometimes I try to scan things I never scanned before, just to see if I can get good results. But most of the time I scan things that are hard to model realistically, like fabrics, unique fruits, and old objects with dirty and worn-out textures.
At the moment, I’m focusing on Brazilian assets because that’s something that we don’t find easily in 3D libraries. Brazil is a huge country with a lot of culture and a specific type of architecture and objects. I’ve been receiving many requests for Brazilian assets and textures that people want for games and ArchViz projects.
You created a beautiful model of an Araucaria pine cone. How is it culturally significant?
The Araucaria pine cone is very typical of the region where I live. It’s widely used here as a decorative piece and as an appreciated delicacy during winter. I did this asset when I was traveling on vacation to a mountain region, where there are plenty of those trees. It was really fun because I could scan different stages of the pine cone and eat it afterward.
Foods are prominent among your assets. Why did you choose to focus on them?
It’s really hard to make realistic models of some foods, and we have so many types of fruits and vegetables here in Brazil. I like creating real products that people can use in real-life projects. Besides, I enjoy the process of creating beautiful textures with Substance Painter.
Actually, my favorite asset so far is the Carcassonne board game. I have this board game, and I play regularly with my friends. So I made it for people to use in ArchViz scenes.
Why did you become a BlenderKit creator?
At the post-production company I work at, we use Blenderkit frequently. After seeing so many different assets, I decided to share some of my own. That’s what I love the most about the Blender community: we always share things.
Do you have any suggestions for emerging 3D artists?
Don’t give up. Experience comes from practice and that takes time. Keep practicing. To be good at something, you have to be bad first.
It’s important to keep studying, we always have something to learn. Whenever you have the opportunity, share what you know and learn from fellow artists.
