Surface Mimic : High resolution color 3D scan textures for digital artists

Specifically we sell greyscale displacement maps to be used in ZBrush and Mudbox as “alphas” and “stencils”.

More generally, Surface Mimic sells 3D scans of various surfaces, so artists can paint realistic details quickly and easily, without having to make everything from scratch. Remember when nobody had a digital camera, and everyone was painting everything by hand in Photoshop? We think we’re in a similar situation now with 3d scanning. Eventually your iphone will make good 3d scans, but until then we’re using our own scanning technology to get you the highest resolution surface scans possible.

How do I use my promotion code?

Its easy. Check out the 3 easy steps on this page.

Does Surface Mimic scan on request?

Yes! If you or your company would like to contract a specific type of surface scan, contact paul@surfacemimic.com with details on what you need.

Additionally, because I’m out scanning surfaces regularly, I’m happy to hear requests. For example, if you want more cobblestone scans let me know through the feedback tab. I can’t promise anything, but if enough people request something, there’s a good chance it will be scanned.

What surfaces do you scan?

Anything we can, but specifically our scans are bas relief surface scans.

This means semi flat diffuse surfaces, such as walls, ground, clothes, skin, tree bark .etc. Other companies do full geometric scanning far better than us, however, we’re unique in selling pre-existing 3D displacement maps of a wide range of surfaces. We feel this is a valuable niche for digital artists, and will become increasingly important as graphics expectations from consumers continue to rise (along with costs and time invested).

What do artists use your 3D scans for?

Our biggest fans and users are digital modellers using ZBrush and Mudbox. A lot of realistic details that are usually painstakingly modelled can now be applied quickly and efficiently.

A lot of Zbrush users have specifically called out clothing alphas as extremely useful. Using our alphas allows the artist to sidestep creating custom cloth weave and seam alphas. The results look natural (because they’re from real source) and the application is easy.

How can I try your stuff before I buy?

Absolutley! Create an account. Then you can download a full resolution sample of any scan and try it out. We do however watermark our samples, for obvious reasons. We highly encourage trying out the samples in Zbrush, or Mudbox to get a good idea if that scan is appropriate for your model. It will also give you a good idea of how our scans can be useful in your workflow, and you’ll probably think of ways to use them, that we haven’t.

Do your scans include color and normals?

Our most recent scans offer diffuse color. Diffuse color scan information is "unlit" and this is perfect for texture artists who use programs like Mari, but is also extremely useful for general texture painting in Mudbox, ZBrush and even Photoshop.

Normal maps are easily obtained by converting our depthmaps in Photoshop using the free XNormal Photoshop plugin. It's super easy, and is a fantastic tool.

What type of 3D scanner do you use?

We built our own 3D surface scanner specifically for capturing high resolution textural details from real world surfaces. When we looked at the available scanning technologies, it was clear the resolution and flexibility wasn’t where we needed it to be. So after a lot of researching, we found a method that suited our needs well, and developed it further.

The method we use is called “Photometric Stereo“. The most basic configuration is a camera and a light. We take multiple shots of the same subject with the light at different angles to the surface.

Then, we use our custom software to build a normal map of the surface, and “integrate” the normals into a depth map. Fundamentally, its a lot of linear algebra, solving an “overdetermined” system.

This method is great for large “globally flat” or bas relief surfaces with fine and medium frequency details such as clothing, skin, brick, concrete, tree bark, dirt, leaves … the list goes on.

How do the gallery site Favorites work?

Favorites are an easy way to tag scans of interest. Every scan has a little heart icon on the thumbnail or preview render page. Click the grey heart to add it to your favorites, and it will change into a gold heart icon. Click the gold heart icon to remove it as a favorite.

Additionally, you can manage your favorites on the “My Favorites” page linked in the dashboard panel. Through the “Favorites Manager” you can create new Favorite Lists, or delete old ones, and even send Favorites via email to coworkers or friends.

How do I download my purchases?

Open your Account Details page under the “My Account” button in the dashboard. Your orders will be shown in list form. For every successful purchase a large blue “Download” button is show on the right hand side of the order list.

Please note that download links are provided for a limited time of up to 1 year after the purchase. We strongly encourage customers to back up their purchases locally.

If you do not see a download link available next to your order. Check the “Status” column. If it shows “pending” or “processing” it means the payment has not been completed by paypal.

If you have a problem with your download or purchase email paul@surfacemimic.com or use the contact form.

Do you have a subscription service? If so, how does it work?

Yes!

Our subscriptions plans can be seen here. Subscriptions are a convenient way to pay once, and for a period of time, have quick access to our 3D scan content. Premium plans offer higher resolution content and higher daily download caps.

How do I use Subscriptions?

Downloads are available through each scan media page, as a large blue button labelled "Download". You can also download "Favorited" scans on the "My Favorites" page.

Subscriptions are the default mode assuming you have an active subscription. If you do not see the large blue "Download" button on each scan media page, check if you are logged in.

Failing that, go to your account page and select the "payment method" button. Then select the subscription option and click the "set" button.

The shopping cart is disabled while in subscription mode. If you need to pay for content using paypal, you can access the account page, and again select the "payment method" button, select "Pay Per Purchse" and click the "set" button.

Internet Explorer doesn't download my subscription scans!

It is highly reccommend that you use Firefox or Chrome, but if you MUST use Internet Explorer, you may need to add "www.surfacemimic.com" to the "Trusted sites" under Internet Explorer>Tools>Security>Trusted sites>Sites, and set the Security level to "Medium-low". Internet Explorer interrupts the Surface Mimic downloads otherwise.

Can I use your scans in commercial work?

Yes. However, in the future we may provide an educational account that may have limitations on using our scans for commercial work.

Please read the “Terms of Use” page for further clarification on how Surface Mimic scans may be used.

Resale of Surface Mimic scans is not permitted.

How often do we add new content?

Every week.

We fully recognize the value in a large and diverse library of 3d scans and increasing it is our biggest priority. While browsing through the gallery site it may not be obvious what scans are valuable. However while modelling it may become obvious an alpha scan is required. Our goal is to make it quick and easy to search for desired content at the drop of a hat. The bigger the selection the better.

What is the resolution of your scans?

Our scans generally range from 1024 x 1024, right up to 7300 x 4900 available with premium content.

There is no practical limit to how high our scan resolutions go, except the resolution of our camera hardware. Because this is improving yearly, our scan resolution will also improve over time.

What should I do if I lose my password?

On the login page, click the link "Lost your password? Reset it here". Fill out the fields, and check your email. Please change your received password to a new one, once you've logged in via your account page through the "Edit Profile" button.

Where can I get an invoice of my purchases?

Each purchase invoice is emailed to the email given at the time of registration for that account.

Also, the “My Account” link in the dashboard will bring you to your order list. By clicking the order number link under the “Order ID” column, you can view the invoice for each purchase order.

Why is my download a zip file?

We use zip files so customers don’t need to download multiple files.

Each purchase order may have multiple scans. Each scan also has multiple formats. Scans aren’t simply images for download, they are non-lossy 16bit displacement maps. The best solution given the pay per purchase order system is currently to use zips.

Is it possible to change my account information?

Yes. Navigate to your Account Details page via the “My Account” link in the dashboard. Then click the “Edit Profile” button.

Your website seems slow, why?

If you are experiencing consistent issues with the site being sluggish, send us a note via the contact form or feedback tab. Please include the time, your location, and the browser you are using.

So far, all latency and speed tests on the site have been excellent. We’re monitoring the server load as we get new users, and can easily scale up the hardware if we need to.

Can I showcase my work using your 3D scans?

Absolutley. We love seeing how artists use our scans. We don’t have a showcase section up yet, but its on the list of things to do.

Do you have tutorials on how to use your scans in ZBrush and Mudbox?

Please check out our You Tube Channel. We have a few examples showcasing our scans with Mudbox, specifically Wayne Robson's excellent introduction video. We're always looking for more experts to show us the tricks of their trade, so If you are an expert Zbrush or Mudbox modeller and are interested in showing off your mad skills using our scans, please contact paul@surfacemimic.com