This fall, I completed an internship with WMU Football, focusing on various video editing tasks. I entered the internship with a single objective: to create a render of a WMU football helmet. At the outset, this task seemed incredibly daunting due to the helmet's complex shape, which could challenge even an experienced modeler. In search of more efficient methods to accomplish my goal, I serendipitously discovered photogrammetry, defined as "the use of photography in surveying and mapping to ascertain measurements between objects." Essentially, it's the science of deriving measurements from photographs. Fortuitously, we live in an age where such tasks have become more accessible. Luma AI, a free app for Apple iOS devices, offers a straightforward process for digitally scanning any object by setting scan parameters and requires only about four steady walks around the object. Luma AI then processes the captured video to produce a 3D model of the scanned object. Finding a tool that is free, fast, and easy is a rarity, so realizing Luma AI's potential made me recognize it as an invaluable resource for building a CGI asset library with items like cones, vending machines, and household objects. Using Luma AI, I managed to obtain a base scan of the helmet, converted the scan into an .obj file, and appended the object to a new scene in Blender.

Upon import, the mesh appeared sloppy, with the software mistaking certain shadows inside the helmet for physical objects, which were then converted into mesh. I used Blender's knife tool to meticulously clean up the inside of the helmet. This was a time-consuming task, especially since the helmet's unique shape prevented the use of isometric views. After refining the helmet's mesh, I modeled a UV sphere, smoothed it by right-clicking and selecting "shade smooth," then resized and placed it inside the helmet to act as a black visor. I parented the sphere to the helmet and began keyframing the helmet to spin towards a set view distance of 20 meters, creating an effect that makes it appear to spin effortlessly through any hard surface.