Photometric Stereo Rig
This is a photometric stereo rig I made in order to capture flat surfaces and foliage elements.
It's collapsible for easy transport, run on rechargeable AA batteries and is compatible with most Canon cameras.
I went through several prototypes and versions before landing on this one, but have plans to improve it in the future.
The concept is fairly simple:
- 8 lights are placed in a circle inside the dome, each at 45° interval.
- A camera is fixed on the top of the dome, looking inside at the scanned surface.
- A control box is coordinating the light sequence with the camera shutter.
- The sequence is triggered via a button on the control box.
- The resulting images can then be color corrected and run through the "Multi-angle to Normal" node in Substance Designer to get the Albedo/Normal maps.
Ivy Leaf Scan
Leaf Scans in Substance Designer
Leaf Scans in Marmoset
Amaryllis Flower - All the elements were scanned and baked individually, then assembled in 3ds Max
Ground Material Scans in Marmoset
Some of the first rig ideas - Most of them were too costly or had too many moving parts.
First Prototype - Don't mind the spaghetti
Final Version
Inside view of the LEDs
I designed a custom PCB to be able to fit everything in the control box
Candy!